Lucky Stars and Gitahs: Farewell Tour
by ParadoxBattleZone
Summary: The Lucky Stars and Gitahs series comes to its suspenseful and dramatic conclusion. And as two sisters struggle to gain normality back to their lives and as Konata's heart still aches, a certain drummer is caught in the center with a difficult choice.
1. The Twins Are Here to Stay

Lucky Stars and Gitahs: Farewell Tour

Chapter 1

_… What a fool I have been…_

_ What kind of idiot am I that I could not see this coming? I… I have brought this upon myself. I have none to blame **but** myself… All this time, I wanted her, for myself... But all I did was doing was bringing her farther and farther away…_

_ … Maybe I… deserved this? Maybe because I was being so selfish, wanting Ritsu for myself… But is it so wrong to fall in love with someone? I-I'm not sure **what** to think anymore. I originally wanted to help her, but somehow, things went awry. How did this happen-?_

_ "Wow, you're beautiful…"_

Konata made a sudden thrash of her body whilst lying atop her bed, voicing a single sob as she did. The tears returned to her eyes.

_That's what she **told** me, that I was beautiful… W-Was she lying then? Did she lie to get by in her lessons...? That must be it. She lied, right to my face: telling me I was beautiful, today's admission, all of it was a lie, lies so she could get to- t-to…_

The blue-haired girl thrashed once again, flipping herself onto her stomach and burying her face into a pillow. The tears continued to come forth.

_It's hopeless now. She probably already admitted to her and t-they are together now… Damnit, why couldn't I have said something earlier. I was too busy being the teacher I was blind to the fact I could have just **told her**._

Konata suddenly slammed her right fist into the mattress. "DAMNIT!" he muffled voice sobbed into her pillow. Mind-numbing sorrow filled every bit of her thoughts. Nothing could distract her heart from its anguish, for she knew she could never undo what she had done. She let the one she loved walk away: Ritsu Tainaka.

Izumi lifted her head from her pillow and checked the clock radio next to her bed. The digital display read 20:21, which means she had not moved from her bed in over five hours. Frankly, she felt too weak to get up. Such was the toll her sorrow took on her body.

She looked around at the four walls of her room and saw everything as if it were not there: the bookshelf of unread manga, her computer, her television. None of it appealed to her anymore. Nothing ever would…

"Konata!" a voice called from outside her room and down the stairs. It was her father, Sōjirō. "Dinner is ready."

"… I'm not hungry," she barely yelled back. Konata was finding _speech_ a difficult task.

"Are you sure?" he called back. "It's curry! I even got that _expensive_ brand you like." It was clear he was going out of his way to cheer his daughter up. The brand he spoke of was nearly four times the price of what the average curry powder they bought woulf cost (not something their family could often afford on the budget they had.)

"I'm _fine_," Konata insisted, this time letting slip a hint of aggravation in her tone.

"… Ok," Sōjirō relented. "I'll leave your plate out in case you change your mind."

Finally left alone, the girl continued to sulk in her solitude. At one point during this time, she slipped off into sleep, only to awake when her stomach gave a loud pang of hunger. Konata sat up and checked her clock again to see that about another hour had passed.

She had just somehow managed to stand up from off her bed when her father called up the stairs again. "Konata, honey, please come down stairs right now. Someone is here for you."

"_That's odd_," the otaku thought to herself. "_Dad very rarely ever calls me 'honey.' And someone is here for **me**? Could it be-? No, it couldn't be would be hoping for the impossible. But still, who would come here at **this** hour?_"

Those thoughts continued to replay in her head as she finally exited her room and lugged herself downstairs. She reached the bottom and saw that there were noises coming from the living room, which was through the doorway on her left. But as she approached the room in question, she passed the dining room door on her right. She gave a quick glance inside to see that her curry, perfectly prepared, sat atop the table at her usual spot, completely untouched.

But she went past and entered the living room, immediately asking "So what's going on he-" She both stopped abruptly and gasped when she finally noticed who her supposed guests were. Kneeling on the floor on the opposite side of a table from Sōjirō were both Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi. Behind each of them was a large, nearly overstuffed black duffle bag.

"W-What the…? Tsukasa? Kagamin? What are you guys doing here?" Konata asked.

Instead of the two answering just yet, her father answered. "Konata, sit down, please." His voice was serious, not something he often was. Konata took this as a _bad_ sign. What was worst was that, at that moment, Konata became aware of how red the right sides of her two's friends faces were. She walked over and took a seat to her father's left. He then looked to the others and asked "Would you like _me_ to tell her or-?"

"N-No," Kagami interrupted. "We can tell her, thank you… K-Konata?"

"Yes…?" Konata said back.

The pigtailed girl took in and exhaled a shaky breath before proceeding. "T-Tsukasa and I, we were… Damnit, we were kicked out of our home."

"Wha-! Kicked _out_? What for!"

Again, she paused, this time for an even longer period. "B-Because… *Sigh* Konata, Tsukasa and I are both gay."

Had this been any other day and under normal circumstances, this admission would have sent Konata bouncing off the walls and ceiling in both pure joy and the satisfaction that all her jokes and teases over the years had been _correct_ all along. But today was not such a day, nor was this moment such a moment. So instead, Konata reacted rather (dare I say it) _normally_. The expression upon her visage turned to stunned in the blink of an eye.

"… O-Oh my God," she managed to whisper after five or so seconds of silence. "Kagamin? Y-You and Tsukasa are… _lesbians_?"

"*Sigh* Yes. We are."

Konata shifted her eyes between the two sisters. Without them even telling her yet, she knew that there was a Part II to what they needed to admit, and she had already figured it out: the sisters were a _couple_. Now Konata really _was_ taken aback. Years of silly and seemingly harmless "twincest" jokes had now been shoved right back into her face. _"Should I feel bad about all the jokes I made?"_ she asked herself. _"After all, I didn't know about this back **then**."_

"B-But how could your family kick you out," Konata then asked. "Aren't you all Buddhists? I thought they didn't care about stuff like that."

"T-They don't, but- But it wasn't the _family_ that kicked us out… It was our _Mom_."

"Your mother?" Sōjirō echoed. "You mean she alone kicked you out? How did _that_ happen?"

In place of her sister, Tsukasa answered the query. "I-It was strange, really. Mom always acts so calm and kind, but when we told the family about us, she…s-she _changed_."

-o0o-

"T-That's not all," Kagami added. She then reached her left hand over and clutched Tsukasa's left hand before she gave the _second_ admission to the family. "Also, Tsukasa and I are… in love… with _each other_." The two then squeezed their eyes shut and awaited the family's reaction.

…

Miki stood up.

She took a few, measured steps forward and stopped within arm's length of her two daughters. After a few seconds, Tsukasa and Kagami reopened their eyes and looked up to their mother's face. "M-Mom?" Tsukasa managed to ask before the near unthinkable occurred.

In movements almost too quick to register, Miki reared her left arm back and, in one fluid motion, struck both her daughter's right cheeks with such great force that it made the two collapse to the ground. The rest of the family behind her shot to their feet an instant after the hit. "Mom!" Inori screamed. "What the hell are you doing!"

Miki ignored her other daughter's cries and focused all her rage onto the two who were before her. "… Get out," she whispered.

Kagami and Tsukasa ungracefully stumbled themselves back onto their feet. The right sides of each of their faces were marked with a bright red and _very_ distinct hand-print. So taken aback from the hit the two were that all they could muster back their mother were terrified looks.

"I want you out of my house," Miki continued.

At this point, her husband Tadao finally managed to speak up. "What are you saying!" he exclaimed. "What is going on with you!"

She instantly whipped around and yelled back into her husband's face. "I am _not_ having _their_ kind living under my roof and that's _that_!" Before Tadao, Matsuri, or Inori could give any sort of retort back, Miki had already turned back around, grabbed both Tsukasa and Kagami by the collar of their shirts, and pulled them out of the room and toward the stairs. Once at the foot of the stairwell, she threw them forward into it, both daughters falling onto their knees.

"You have ten minutes to pack your things," Miki ordered. "After that, you're both out the door."

-o0o-

Tsukasa could not stop breaking down into tears as she recounted the event of not even an hour or so ago. Kagami kept a hold of her right hand, which seemed to help. "S-She _did_ give us ten minutes," Tsukasa continued. "But once it was up, she barged into our rooms, zipped up our bags, and threw us out the front door and locked it behind us. We both went back to the door and kept banging on it to let us back in but no one would answer. We could hear Mom yelling at the others inside."

When Tsukasa paused, Kagami continued in her place. "That's how it basically happened. At first, neither I nor Tsukasa knew where we were going to go… But then she suggested coming here." She turned her eyes to Sōjirō. "That's why, Izumi-san," she said, bowing her head to toward the table's surface, "we both humbly request that you allow us to stay at your house."

Already, Konata had a good idea as to how her father would answer. Her father paused to give a heaving sigh of his chest. "… I suppose I _can_ allow you to stay-" He quickly noticed the two across the table raise an eyebrow. "O-Oh, it's not like I'm doing it begrudgingly or anything! Honest! I'm just saying that it can't be _forever_. It is not _you_ two, quite the opposite. It's just a matter of finance…" The eyebrows lowered, the two's visages now showing a look of realization. "It's usually only been Konata and I. I've been able to support Yutaka when she came to stay, but I'm just not sure I handle two more so suddenly.

I hope you understand what I mean."

Kagami nodded. "I- _We_ understand, and thank you. Tsukasa and I will try not to be a burden to you." The only thing Tsukasa really added was a quick "Right."

Konata shifted slightly before offering to the two that "You can sleep in my room, if you want. We have a couple of extra futons somewhere you two can-"

"Um, excuse me?" A quite voice sounded from the open threshold that led into the hall. Everyone tuned to see the previously mentioned, Yutaka Kobayakawa, timidly poking her head from behind a wall, looking into the room.

"Y-Yu-chan!" Konata exclaimed. "How long have you been standing there?"

"U-Uh, somewhere in the middle of Tsukasa telling the story… Well, I just wanted to offer you two _my_ room."

"Wha-? N-No, Yutaka," Kagami said back, "you don't have to do that for-"

"No, _really_, I insist." She removed herself from behind the wall, putting her while body into view in the doorway. "You two can use my bed, I don't mind. It's big enough for two people anyway, _much_ bigger than what _I_ need. I can use a futon and sleep in Onee-chan's room- I mean, if that's ok with _you_, Onee-chan."

"… Uh y-yeah- I mean, no, it's no problem with me… But what if they want _separate _beds?"

"Un, actually," Tsukasa chimed in, "I'd rather share a bed…" Then, when she noticed everyone's staring eyes, she nervously added "B-But it's not for _that _reason! I-It's just, today has been really nuts, and it might help if I have Onee-chan-"

"I-It's ok, we understand," Sōjirō interjected, _not _wanting to hear more. "But are you sure about this, Yutaka?" he then asked, to which she gave back a sharp nod of her head as a reply. The two Hiiragi sisters then stood up from the table, bowed to both Konata and Sōjirō and thanked then once more for their hospitality before picking up their bags and following Yutaka upstairs to their room. This left the father and daughter along in the living room.

Sōjirō took this moment to finally have a chance to talk with Konata, something he seemed to have been without for the last _month_. He voiced another long sigh, one which conveyed the stress this situation had put upon him. "Man… What a night, huh?" He was met with silence. Konata seemed to have her gaze locked onto the surface of the table in front of her, her eyes showing an almost unfeeling look to them. "… You ok, honey?" he asked her.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. It was clear that she _wasn't_.

"Want to talk about it?" Silence. "*Sigh* I thought so… You know you can tell me _anything_, Konata."

"I'm _fine_." She was _just_ about to stand up when she was suddenly stopped short when Sōjirō leaned in and quite literally grappled her daughter in a hug. "Uh, Dad, you're acting all clingy again," she advised. Not that that did anything, though.

Sōjirō had now adopted an almost child-like whine to his voice. "Oh please don't be like this!" he pleaded. "Come one, talk to me, _please_!" This was not completely unlikely. Sometimes, when his late wife Kanata was on his mind, he would enter this sort of clingy state, using Konata as that with which to cling to. She has gotten use to it over the years

As Konata's father continued to hug, something akin to a miracle occurred. For what seemed the first time in a month, Sōjirō's antics managed to put a _grin_ on the girl's face. "Dad, come on, knock it off. It's late. I should get some sleep… Goodnight." She stood up, breaking her father's hug at the same time, and headed back upstairs to her room. A futon had already been laid out on the floor and Yutaka was already in her room when Konata got there. Yutaka was in the middle of changing into her pajamas: she had already switched into her sweatpant bottoms and, currently, was without shirt and bra, just about to put a simple t-shirt on. The second Konata door opened, Yutaka gasped at being caught half-naked and turned her front away from her cousin.

"Hee hee," Konata laughed. "What are _you_ so embarrassed about? Nothing _I_ haven't seen, Yu-chan. We use to take baths together, remember?"

"I-I know," she whispered back, quickly throwing the shirt on. She turned back around. "Uh, sorry about springing that up on you so suddenly, Onee-chan, about them using my room," she apologized.

"It's ok… That was really nice of you, Yu-chan, to give them your room."

"Oh, thank you."

"Hmm. But _why_?"

"Eh?"

"Why did you give them your room? I _was_ going to offer them _my_ room."

"Well… I guess I felt sympathetic to them."

"Sympathetic?" Konata echoed.

"Y-Yeah. Well, I know if _I_ suddenly had nowhere to live, I'd be terrified!"

"Hmm, I guess. You're just a little angel then, aren't you, Yu-chan?" she joked.

"Eh-hee-hee," laughed back. "Onee-chan, you seem to be in better spirits now."

"I guess I am… Ok, I'm going to sleep. I'm _exhausted_." Konata threw herself atop her bed and before Yutaka thought to say "Goodnight" to her, she was already asleep.

What proceeded for the next few days was, for Konata, Tsukasa, and Kagami, the most stressful days of school they had ever had to endure. Those three shared a secret that only a small numbered few knew about. Whenever they had their usually lunch together, Miyuki was the only one at their impromptu table that had no clue. That being said, those three were unaware of _her_ secret: her relationship with Tsumugi Kotobuki.

-o0o-

"… Oh my gosh," Tsumugi whispered. "I think… I think I know what's going on, you guys."

"You do?" asked Azusa. "Wait, what do you mean by 'what's going on'?"

Mugi turned to the two and said "I think Ritsu has a thing for Mio!"

Silence once again filled the room. The look on both Yui and Azusa's faces were ones of shock. "… What?" the kouhai deadpanned back. "You think that _Ritsu_ likes_ Mio_?"

"Yes, I _do_. In fact, I don't _think_ she does: I _know_ she does!"

"B-But Mugi, how are you so sure!"

Mugi, once again not think before she spoke, had just put herself into a seemingly inescapable position. The two others in the room, Yui Hirasawa and Azusa Nakano, now had their eyes firmly locked onto Mugi, awaiting her explanation. She saw no other way of answering truthfully without revealing that what she had kept secret from them both: her relationship with Miyuki Takara.

"Well, you see…" she finally answered. "I'm sure because… I'm, in a way, _like_ Sawa-chan and Nanako."

"… You're _married_?" Yui gasped. Azusa gave the brunette a look akin to saying aloud "You're fucking with us, right?"

"Eh- N-No, Yui. I mean- *Sigh* Everyone, I like girls."

Just like a moment before, the room seemed to plunge into silence. Slowly, Azusa and Yui's eyes open wider and wider until they reached their maximum. "M-Mugi-chan?" Yui then said. "You mean you're a lesbian too?"

Again, Mugi voiced a nervous sigh. "… Yes, it's true. I am a lesbian- Wait, 'too'?"

"Yeah, like Sawa-chan."

"O-Oh. The way you said it, it sounded like you- Never mind. But, uh, yeah, I guess I am like Sawa-chan, in _that_ respect."

"W-When did you know that you... you know." Azusa asked.

"Oh, I think I've _always_ been like this. Far back as I can remember, really."

"So, uh, do you have, you know, a _girlfriend_?"

"Well, yeah, but uh… I don't think she wants everyone knowing _she_'s a lesbian as well. Because, you know, she wasn't one before."

"So you _turned_ her into a lesbian?" Azusa then deadpanned.

"Not _exactly_…"

"So who is she?" Yui asked. "Anyone we know?"

"But will you promise to keep it a secret?" Mugi asked the others. When she got back unison nods, she answered "… Miyuki Takara."

"Holy _shit_!" Azusa quickly covered her mouth after that uncharacteristic vulgarity. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to scream that! It's just… _Wow_. Miyuki, _really_?"

"Mhm," she said back, giving a nod of her head. "T-This must be shocking to you two, right?" The reply Mugi got back was… _not_ what she was expecting. Yui and Azusa exchanged a glance before looking back. Yui was finally the one to say back "Um, actually… We kind of already had a feeling."

"Eh? Y-You knew! B-But how!" Mugi was clearly taken aback by this. She had imagined the admitting of her sexuality to be met with shocked exclamations of such things as "I had no idea!" or "I never saw this coming at _all_!", things one would expect to hear uttered in a television drama. But to receive back the big slap in the face of "We already knew, Mugi"? As a matter of fact, Mugi felt almost _cheated_ out of the experience she expected.

"_Well_," Azusa chimed in, "You'd sometimes have these weird, almost excited looks at the weird times, these glimmers in your eyes. For example, that time we saw Sawako and Nanako kiss for the first time."

"Oh? I-I thought I was being discrete about that."

"You _were_, but not well enough. It was still pretty obvious."

"B-But _Yui_ was saying 'They look so cute together' that day. You don't think _she's_ a lesbian?"

At this, Azusa quite literally burst into laughter. "_Yui_? A les- Ah-hahahaha!" She continued to laugh for a few more seconds before she seemed to subside. "That's a good one, Mugi."

Yui, however, didn't seem too pleased at being laughed at. "Hey," she nearly whined. "Why doesn't Azu-nyan think I can be a lesbian too!"

"You just don't seem like the type to be a lesbi- Wait, why do you even _care_, Yui-sempai? You're not a lesbian anyway!... _Are you_?"

"No-"

"Then why do you care that I- Wait. Mugi, why are you acting all defensive right now, passing the attention to Yui? You just _told_ _us_ that you liked girls."

"Oh, because you didn't react correctly!" Mugi exclaimed. "You were supposed to act shocked and surprised and say 'We had no idea!' Oh fiddle-sticks, this isn't how I imagined it at all!"

"… You're very weird, Mugi," Azusa commented. The room once again took a turn for silence, and it was in that moment that, in a way, Azusa came to grips with the gravity of the situation. "… Jeez. So _Sawa-chan_ is a lesbian, _Ritsu_ likes _Mio_, _you're_ a lesbian, Mugi… Was there a meeting or something that I missed?" Everyone else in the room raised an eyebrow at the pigtailed girl. "I mean, did we all just decide 'Hey, let's all switch fields?' I-I… This is _nuts_. I'm going home." She packed up her instrument, grabbed her bag, and after giving a final "See ya" to Mugi and Yui, she exited the room.

After being alone in the now dead-silent clubroom for a good number of seconds, Yui turned to Mugi. "I don't think anyone's coming back," she said, stating, perhaps, the absolute most obvious thing she could, "so is it ok if we left too?"

"Uh, yeah," Tsumugi replied. "You can go ahead of me. I need to pack up the snacks and stuff."

"Ok," said Yui with a grin as _she_ got her bag and packed up her instrument. As Mugi continued to rebox their cake for that day (which had gone largely uneaten, given the events that occurred) and right before Yui left the clubroom, she gave Miss Kotobuki one last message. "Say hi to Yuki-chan for me, will ya?" And with that she exited and shut the door behind her.

Mugi could not stop grinning. Though he _had_ been denied the dramatic experience she desired, she _was_ incredibly happy that her friends (or at least Azusa and Yui, for the time being) were so accepting of her admission.

She had quite the story to tell Miyuki the next time they met, that was for sure.

-o0o-

"_Tadaima_."

With the closing of another day of work, Sawako Yamanaka returned to her home sometime in the evening. It took no more than a split second before the aroma of a cooking dinner wafted from the kitchen and into her nostrils, reawakening a hunger that had seemed to disappear on the car ride home. She took off her shoes and entered the kitchen/dining room, where her wife Nanako could be seen standing in front of the stove (wearing her white apron, as she always did whilst cooking.)

Said blonde broke her concentration from her cooking to turn around and meet Sawako back with a "Hey honey." The brunette in question walked herself over to Kuroi to give her a quick peck on the mouth (an average greeting between the two, it seemed.)

"Work going good?" Nanako asked as she returned to the stove.

"Yeah, guess so," Sawako replied. "But, uh… Strange thing, really: no one was at the club room today."

Nanako kept her eyes on her work as she replied with a "Really? That seems odd. They're _always_ in the club room after school, right?"

"_Exactly_. That is what I thought was strange. Hmm, maybe they all went out into town to do something."

"Maybe."

"… So, Nanako, any luck with Konata yet."

"… *Sigh* None at all," Kuroi replied, showing disappointment in her tone. "I've been hard on her case for a week straight now and, well, I'm starting to feel like I'm just wasting my energy on her. _Last_ week she seemed to have a tiny bit more perk in her step, but after that it's been worst then ever...

I'm actually _really_ frightened for her, Sawako. I mean, what if she doesn't get out of this? Who _knows_ what could happen to her."

Nanako suddenly felt her wife's arms reach out from behind her and encircle her waist, felt her soft breasts and the curve of her body cup against her back, and the other's chin rest atop her left shoulder. "You're not wasting your energy," she reassured her. "And don't give up on her. _Ever_. Just be persistent and keep at her no matter what. She'll come around eventually. Trust me."

The blonde voiced a soft moan at the other's gentle, supportive, and evocative touch. "Mmm… Thanks… I just don't know _when_ that will be: tomorrow, a week from now, a _month_. I want to help her _now_, but I can't help her until she _asks_ for help. Otherwise she won't want any. Damnit, why does she need to be so stubborn!"

"Hmm, can't really say. But hey, _I_ was a pretty stubborn chick when I was younger, remember? And besides, Konata's a teenager after all, and you know how _they_ are. She might just grow out of it, who knows?"

"_Maybe_, maybe… Hope _your_ students aren't giving you headaches." Nanako half-joked.

Sawako released her hug to walk backwards and plopped herself into a chair at the dining table not ten or so feet away. "No, can't say any of _my_ students are acting any different. Not taking into account today, what with them not at the club room, it has been business as usual, far as I can tell."

"_Humph_. Glad to see _you're_ doing fine. Meanwhile I have 'Nightmare Gloom' to deal with."

"Nightmare Gloom…" Sawako echoed in a whisper. "Why does that sound familiar to me… Wait a second. Is that a pun-reference to what I _think_ it is?" she then asked Sawako in a mocking tone.

"Uh n-no, it's not!" she _instantly_ defended.

"You _sure_? Because that sounds an _awful_ lot like 'Nightmare _Moon_,' and _that's _a reference to-"

"I don't know _who_ that is or _what_ you're talking about!" In truth, she actually did. "Now can we _please_ end this conversation?

Sawako could not stop laughing at this point. "Oh man, Nanako, I have so much more dirt on you now," she chuckled. "I am going to have fun with _this_."

"Oh, you think so?" Kuroi snapped back, turning herself around at the same time, "how is it _you_ know who that is? _Huh_?"

"…"

"Yeah, just as I thought. We're _both_ equally guilty." She then returned to her cooking, which now seemed on the eve of being complete.

"… So does that make us 'bronies'?" Sawako then asked.

"We are _not_ calling each other that," Nanako shot back.

"… How about 'Bristers'?"

"Oh shut up."

* * *

><p><strong>[Author's Notes]<strong> Well, this be it. The beginning of the end of "Lucky Stars and Gitahs." And yes, this _will_ be the last of the series. But does that mean I won't make other Lucky Star/K-On crossovers? Most likely not, but time will ultimately tell.

At any rate, the story continues the sub-trilogy interconnected story that began with "Love's Battlefield" and will end with the series as a whole. As some of you have already guessed, Miki has gone and completely rejected her lesbian daughters. Mugi's admission went better than expected (much to her personal dismay) and both Sawako and Nanako are bronies. Or is it bristers? Whatever, they watch 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' is the point I'm conveying.

And before you ask, yes, _I_, ParadoxBattleZone, is a bronie as well.

Until the next chapter, enjoy thyselves, populous, and may good health be in thy future.


	2. First Date

Chapter 2

The opening baseline to Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Californication" filled the silence of Mio Akiyama's room. It was around 20:00 in the evening of that day, she had done her homework well over a few hours ago (not long after she had gotten back from school) so Mio took this moment to squeeze a bit of instrument practice in. She laid flat upon her back atop her bed, her bass guitar resting atop her stomach as she played. This was one of her favorite songs when it came out over ten years ago, and when she first began to learn base, it was one of the first songs she taught herself to play. She thought back to the day she finally nailed it down perfectly, how she excitedly rushed right over to Ritsu's house to show her-

_Ritsu_.

The strumming of Elizabeth's strings came to a sudden halt. The last three days for the Light Music Club's bassist had been quite the eventful ones. It all began, of course, when Ritsu, after not going to school one day, claiming a sickness, arrived at the club during its operating hours. She went straight for Mio and literally dragged her outside and behind the school's statue, where she-

Mio thrashed her head to the left at the thought. "Stupid Ritsu," she bassist whispered aloud to herself. "What did you go and do that for?" But it was not just that first kiss that lingered in her thought. It was all that occurred _afterward_, when Miss Akiyama was brought to Ritsu's home and into her room. In absolute truth, nothing apart from a few deepened moments of kissing and fully clothed grabs were made that day. But it didn't matter, because Mio knew that a huge step had been taken that day, a step that could never be taken back. What's done is done, as they say.

It was the days after that were worse. An unspoken agreement between Mio and Ritsu was made that they speak none of this to anyone, that it would be a secret until the time was right to reveal it. So far, both of them had kept the secret well enough and none of their friends seemed ever the wiser. In fact, not one did they really inquire about the events of that day. But for how much longer, Mio wondered, would this continue? Already she was feeling the pressure of keeping such a secret under tight lock. Would she be able to hold it in until the time was right?

The phone in her pant's left pocket sang to life. Already she had a feeling who it was that was calling, and when she set her bass aside and retrieved the device, her assumption was proven correct. The mini-display on the flip-phone's outside read "_Ricchan_." It took her a full five seconds of ringing before she finally opened the phone up.

"Hello?" she finally answered.

"_Hey…_" said Ritsu from the other end. It was clear _she_ was nervous as well.

"… Hey."

"_How's it goin'?_"

"Good… You?"

"_Good…_"

Fifteen seconds then passed where neither of the two spoke a single word. It was as if they _both_ were waiting on the other to bring up the inevitable conversation, the one pertaining to _that day_ three days ago. They _knew_ they had to talk about it, but _when_ was a mystery. Mio just wanted it out of the way and over with. Hell, she wanted things back to the way they _were_, when they had just been friends and nothing further, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. Not now. Not ever.

Finally, Mio took it upon herself to bring up the subject. "Look, Ritsu, I-"

"_Do you wanna go out tomorrow?_" Tainaka suddenly interjected.

"W- _What_?"

"_I **said** 'Do you want to go out tomorrow?' You know, like after school. Coffee shop opened up in town and I kind of wanted to check it out. Game?_"

"… A-Are you asking me on a… d-_date_?"

"_You can call it that if you want to. So, game?_" Ritsu asked again.

"Uh, s-sure, I'm game- But what about the club? Everyone will expect us to show up for our regular practice. Plus, if we're _both_ not there, they might start to expect that we're-"

"_Together?_"

"D-Don't say that, Ritsu!"

"_Why not? You telling me that we're **not**?_"

"N-No, I just- Look, fine, I'll skip the club and go with you, but we _are_ going to talk about this, got it?" She didn't need to explain to Ritsu what "this" was. It was all too clear.

Ritsu paused. "_… Yeah, I figured you would… Sure thing, Mio-chan. See you tomorrow then… Night_." She hung up immediately after.

"… Night." Mio said back.

Mio slipped the cellphone back into her pocket and, finding the room silent, took that moment to think once again. "_A date_." Mio found it sort of odd how a simple name change made a world of difference. When she and Ritsu had hung out before, it was considered just _that_: hanging out. But since Ritsu has basically made the decision _for her_ that they were in a relationship, "hanging out" was now "dating."

Quite honestly, Mio didn't like this. In truth, she _hated_ that thought. "_I mean, why does it have to be dating? Can we not hang out anymore? It **has** to be called something else? I never asked for this to change into something else-"_

Then it hit her. She suddenly pieced together a part of why she was feeling so awkward about this whole ordeal: she essentially had had no say in this change. It was all Ritsu's doing and all _Mio_ had done was (both literally and figuratively) fall backward and let things occur out of her control. She never _asked_ for her and Ritsu's friendship to become love. She should have had a say in this before things progressed the way they did.

… But at the same time, though she hated how things changed between her and Ritsu, and thought she hated how things could never be called or be the same thing again, she didn't _want_ things to return to what they were. She was _happy_ for Ritsu, happy that such a large weight had seemed to be lifted from her shoulders.

But what would she value _more_ in the end: Ritsu's happiness or her _own_…

-o0o-

The next day dawned and went. School hours for Sakura High came to a close, and as students filed out the school's front door and headed off home, a certain bassist stood not a far distance off and awaited Ritsu's arrival. She was more nervous now than she was yesterday. As she waited, she hopped the others (Mugi, Yui, and Azusa) wouldn't be mad at her and Ritsu for skipping out on the club again.

The drummer in question made a sudden appearance into the sun's light as she stepped outside the school's front doors. The two's eyes locked immediately and Ritsu approached the other, stopping a few feet before her. They then held silence between each other, none of them looking to willing to speak.

That is, until Ritsu broke it. "… Let's go," she stated before walking past Mio toward the school's gate. But she took no more than two steps past before Mio stopped her with a "Wait." The two spun themselves around at the same instant to lock eyes.

"Don't forget what I said, Ritsu," Mio reminded. "I want to talk about this, ok?"

"Fine fine, we'll talk, now can we go?" Ritsu didn't sound too genial. It was if she were dismissing Mio's reminder. Nevertheless, the two left together and exited school grounds, heading towards downtown, Mio following.

-o0o-

"Mio and Ritsu-sempai aren't here again," said Azusa, stating the obvious.

It was a familiar sight: Tsumugi, Yui, and Azusa in the club room during its normal hours, _without_ the presence of the Houkago Tea Time's remaining two members. It had happened at least a few days prior but now both Azusa and Yui were beginning to believe this would be a regular happening. Mugi, however, was counting on it being so.

With only three sitting at the table enjoying their daily tea and cake, there seemed to be much more to split between those in attendance (something Yui took full advantage, partaking of more cuts than she would normally eat.) And as the three ate, from the silence of an uneventful day of their club, Yui asked the collective "You think they're on a date?" 'they' obviously being the two absentees.

Azusa looked to her sempai and asked her "That's a _rhetorical_ question, right?"

"Umm… No, I don't _think_ so."

"*Sigh* _Yes_, Yui, it's a date. I mean, what else _could_ it be? You remember what Mugi said, right?" The mentioned's trademark eyebrows perked up at the mention of the name. "She was convinced: Mio and Ritsu have something going on."

Mugi opened her mouth to give back a modest interjection of "Oh, but I could be _wrong_, of course," (even though she knew damn well she was correct), but Yui interjected _herself_ by saying back to Azusa "Well it has been three days already. Why don't we ask them?"

"No!" The lady Kotobuki finally spoke up and she did it in a big way, exclaming that loud negative. "We can't ask them. We just _can't_!"

"Why not?" Yui asked the blonde back.

"Because it's against the rules!"

"_What_ rules?" Azusa then asked.

"Jeez, haven't you two seen a romance drama lately? One or more members of the couple have to admit their new sexuality _themselves_! We can't just ask them out of the blue suddenly. They might freak and then they might _never_ admit it!"

"… Mugi-sempai, I think you've been watching _too many_ dramas… Well, I can't see any reason on staying today as well. We're two members down, including the club's president."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right," Mugi agreed. When Yui then gave a nod of her own agreement, the three band members packed up and left the clubroom. The room would then experience a period of silence after their departure, that is, until the light music club's _advisor_ burst through the door.

"Cut me a slice of that cake and pour me some tea," Sawako cheered in a closed-eye grin, "because teaching worked up one _hell_ of an apati-" Only then did she open her eyes and realize she was alone. "… Oh… They all left. _Again…_Guess I'll just, go _home_ then…" And with her head now hung low she left sans cake in her stomach and tea to wash it down.

-o0o-

The two Sakura students, Mio and Ritsu, after a short walk, arrived at their intended destination. It was a café located not a stone's throw from the station. It was a sister store to another that just so happened to be based in Ryoo, a café known for its caramel macchiato (if a certain aspiring student artist had anything to say about it.) The two took seats opposite each other at a booth at the store's front window. The sun outside was beginning to set and the light that bled through was of warm amber and orange hues.

And after the pair was seated… not much else occurred. Both said nothing to each other for the first long moments since arriving. Though Ritsu had her eyes on her companion, Mio seemed more interested with the stained wooden surface of the table. Finally a waitress approached and asked them "Is there anything I can get you two?"

Mio didn't even glance an eye at the waitress. Ritsu instead answered. "Uh, what do you suggest?" she asked. "Never came here before."

"Oh, well, our brother store has gotten praise for its caramel macchiatos, so-"

"Two of those, I guess."

The waitress nodded and promptly left to get their drinks, leaving the students alone again. This time, Ritsu attempted to get _some_ sort of response from the one sitting opposite. "Uh… Nice place, huh?" Small talk. Ritsu knew Mio wanted to talk about the relationship, and the way she was implying her words, Ritsu feared Mio might want to break it off. So she thought that, by changing the subject enough and controlling the conversation, maybe Mio would forget. A stretch of a hope, perhaps, but it was something.

But Mio didn't seem interested in small talk. In fact it seemed more likely she was having a telepathic conversation with the table, judging at how her eyes had yet to leave it. Ritsu tried again. "Uh, that test we took yesterday, that was a tough one, right…?" Nothing. "But uh, I ended up studying on my own (for a change) and guess what I got for a grade? Eighty-two. Not bad, huh?"

Nothing.

The drummer finally heaved a sigh of relent. "… Alright, damnit, you win, Mio. You got something to say? Then say it. I feel like I'm talking to a wall here as it is."

The black-haired girl finally lifted her eyes from the table and onto Ritsu, and for the first time since leaving school grounds, she spoke.

"… I don't like this," she stated.

"… Huh?" Ritsu asked back, dumbfounded.

"I said 'I don't like this.' I don't like how this all _happened_!"

Maintaining the dumbfounded look on her visage, Ritsu stared rather blankly at Mio, truly unsure how to react this sort of response. The waitress returned and placed the two coffee drinks in front of them and immediately left. _She_ noticed the strange looks between the two and decided not to get involved.

"… W-What do you mean?" the drummer finally asked.

The bassist sighed back. "Ritsu, you do things sometimes and you don't ever think about how others will react or ask what _they_ think about it. I mean, Christ, you show up out of nowhere after not going to school that day, you rip me from the club room and take me to the statue, tell me that you lo-"

"Ssh! Not so loud. People can hear us," Ritsu interjected. Indeed the two were starting to get looks from the other patrons. Rather _loaded_ looks at that.

Mio continued in a whisper but skipped not a single beat. "- Tell me that you love me, _kiss_ me, then drag me to you house and-"

"Ssh, Jesus! Is _that_ what's bothering you? The stuff we did…? Because, well, you didn't seem to object at the time."

Mio blushed intensely at that recurring thought. It was a moment she was ashamed to admit true. Yes, what Ritsu said _was_ true. On that day, when she brought Mio to her room and moments of intimacy occurred between them, Mio got swept up in the acts. She began to regret how she surrendered so easily the more time passed afterward.

"I-It's not _just that_, Ritsu," Mio explained. "It's all of it! Y-You just did these things and- and… And I had no say in it!

And now nothing is the same between us. We're not 'friends' anymore. We're _more_ than that now. _Girlfriends._ A-And I didn't have a say in that _either_! Y-You just went ahead and did what _you_ felt like doing, but… But did you even consider what _I_ wanted?"

Ritsu was speechless, astonished for a completely new reason. Mio had said nothing about that day _since_ that day, so to hear this now was akin to getting hit by a train at full speed. "M-Mio… _That's_ what you're upset about? You… You felt like you didn't have a say?"

"_Yes_. All these things happened so fast and I feel like there's no going back now. I wasn't ready to take a step forward like this, Ritsu. Now I feel like we can't go back to being just friends, like it always has been."

"… I see…" This time, Ritsu's eyes fell onto the table's surface, to her drink. It already lost much of its heat. "… You want to break up then. I get it. It's ok, I underst-"

"No, Ritsu."

The eyes lifted. "No?"

"I don't like how I didn't have a say in how things changed, but now that things _have_ changed… I-I don't want things to go _back_."

"… I-I don't understand-"

"How long have you felt this way about me, Ritsu. Please, be honest."

The drummer halted and thought about the question for a moment. "Well, I guess, I _always_ felt this way. I-It was only until recently that I kind of realized it."

"Really? When was _that_?"

"Uh, a month or so, I guess." Ritsu decided Mio _could not_ know about her lessons with Konata. Though she had Konata to thank for _everything_, having Mio know would probably complicate things more than they should be. "I just sort of began thinking about things and, well, one day, the answer just sort of… came to me."

"See? I'm not trying to say that you're _wrong_ about liking me. It's obvious that you _do_ and I don't want to deny any feelings you have… I mean, Jesus, I just-"

"Wanted a bit more say in that matter."

"Exactly… But it's too late _now_. You already confessed. Can't do it _again_."

"… Maybe we _can_, Mio," Ritsu added. She snatched her coffee up and downed its entire contents in a single go. She then retrieved her wallet and took out a one thousand yen bill (which easily paid for both drinks while providing a tip) and slammed the bill onto the table. "Follow me, Mio. I'm gonna _give_ you that second chance."

-o0o-

"Ritsu, why did you bring me here?" Mio asked her. After they left the café, Ritsu lead the black-haired other no more than a couple of blocks away, to a bus bench placed on the sidewalk. The setting golden sun was shining right in Mio's face, giving an almost angelic aura to it.

"I told you already," Ritsu answered. She was standing next to the bench adjacent to Mio. "I'm giving you a second chance. This time, you can react however you want, ok? And there will be nothing forced on you, I promise. Now, just stay here and I'll be right back." Before Mio could say anything, Ritsu ran off down the sidewalk and ducked behind a distant tree.

"_What the heck is she doing_?" Mio wondered to herself. "_Why does she thing she can give a 'second chance?_'"

Ritsu remained hidden for a full twenty seconds until she suddenly popped out from behind her cover. She then began to walk casually down the street, back in Mio's direction, but did not seem to notice she was there on the way back. It was only when she got within ten or so feet of the bench that she acted surprised to see Mio there, putting on a glad look. "Oh, Mio-chan, glad you came. I, uh, wanted to tell you something."

"_What the heck is she- Wait a second… She's not going to actually- She's going to give a **second** confession? C-Can that even be done?_"

The drummer took her sweet time in walking over to the bench and taking a seat to Mio's left. "Sorry I made you come out all this way, but, uh, I kind of wanted some privacy."

"_So you brought me to a sidewalk bus stop? I think you're making this up on the fly, Ritsu_."

Nevertheless the drummer continued. "You see, I wanted to tell you something for a while now, but I… I wasn't sure how you'd react. I didn't want to say it too soon incase you'd become angry." _I already told you I was angry, Ritsu, but not **because** you confessed. And why are you acting so serious? You're acting like it's the very **first** admission._ "And I definitely didn't want to say it too late, or for that matter, not at all. That would have been even worse." _Wait, maybe she really **wants** this to be like a first…_

Mio finally spoke back. "Ritsu, just say it already," she told her. "Stop stalling."

"… Fine." The headbanded girl made a sudden pivot in Mio's direction, reaching her hands forward and cupping them around both of Mio's. This was _much_ different than the rather forced and somewhat harsh revealing from before. No, _this_ was much more gentle and (dare it be said) _un_like Ritsu. In fact, one could say Ritsu was changing her demeanor _for_ Mio.

"Mio…" she continued. "I… I have had feelings for you for a long time now." Though it was, in essence, the second time Mio heard such words from Ritsu, these second ones were hitting her with _much_ more of an impact. "I think I've always had these feelings for you, but it wasn't until recently that I sorted them out… But now, I can tell you.

Mio, I love you."

Mio gasped. Again, even though she heard this from Ritsu once already, the _second_ admission was more potent than the former. She felt her entire face heat up from the blush it now no doubt adorned. Likewise, her entire body suffered a stiff chill, followed immediately after by a warm feeling of comfort.

Ritsu continued. "I know you're probably freaking out right now. Trust me, you're face is the color of a fire hydrant." She managed to chuckle and grin at this, but both left just as quickly, her face and demeanor shooting right back to serious. "You probably would have never expected me to say this to you, I know, but this is how I really feel about you, Mio. I _love_ you…

But I know that you might not love me back… If you don't, please, just tell me. I promise not to hold it agains- HMM?"

Ritsu's voice became muffled when Mio did the unthinkable. _She_ leaned forward of her own want and kissed Ritsu, locking her lips firmly around the other's. With her eyes closed, Mio could not see the flabbergasted look Ritsu's eyes gave back. It would appear her new and adapted admission did the trick, and perhaps, it worked _too_ well.

Not a few seconds after Mio made the initial oral contact a bus from down the street approached their stop and began to slow down to a halt. Feelings of fright swelled up within the drummer instantly. They were going to be no doubt stared at by _everyone_ getting off at this stop and it was an embarrassing situation she'd rather avoid.

Ritsu jerked head back to free her mouth. She made a single gasp for air before hurriedly saying "Mio, the bus! Everyone will see-!"

"Let them watch," Mio suddenly interrupted, and before Ritsu knew it, the kiss had been reconnected, Mio making _sure_ it would not break prematurely a _second_ time by reaching her arms around the other's waist and sliding themselves closer into an embrace. The bus came to a stop directly in front of the bench, and when the tinted doors opened, the patrons within were greeted to quite the sight, much to _all_ their surprises.

At first, Ritsu was absolutely mortified at being seen in such a manner in front of so many people, but an instant later, she no longer seemed to care. Like Mio had been before, _she_ now found _herself_ swept up in the heat of the moment. She reciprocated the kiss back, now not giving a damn _who_ witnessed it. She was far too elated to give a single care.

Ritsu loved Mio, and _now_, Mio loved her just as much _back_. No more boundaries existed between them. The only direction their love could go now was _forward_…

* * *

><p><strong>[Author's Notes] <strong>Ok, time for a bit of honesty. At first, I hated writing Mitsu stuff (RitsuXMio). Also, at first, I had not a flipping idea as to how I would go about _writing_ Mitsu. Literally for days I would think of ways to go about this chapter, and then I thought that "Hey, Mio has pretty much been thrust into this relationship by Ritsu. Maybe I can work on _that_ sort of angle." And BAM, the chapter was completed, and I must say, I impressed even myself, being able to write what I did.

As inplied, first work with Mitsu, so input from you readers would be grand. Thank you.


	3. Rich Maiden Complications

Chapter 3

Konata regretted having to do this. She _knew_ this moment was bound to happen. Hell, one could view it as inevitable. But she knew this had to be done. It still didn't make doing it any easier.

She stood and stalled for time in front of the door of what was Yutaka's room. That is until she willingly gave it up. It was now Tsukasa and Kagami's room, the two sisters cast out from their family's home for being merely _themselves_. Their _true_ selves. Rethinking the thought made Konata's heart twist into knots. She wondered, for a moment, how _her_ patent would react…

But she pushed aside such thoughts for the moment, and instead, pushed herself forward to accomplish the task she was instructed to do. She reached her hand forward and knocked on the bedroom door three times. There came no answer. She knocked a second time, harder than the first. Still nothing. Finally she forcibly _banged_ on the door thrice. This finally produced results.

Kagami's hurried and more so _panicked_ voice sounded from the other side. "J-Just a second!" she yelled back. Her voice was followed from the sounds of stumbling, which lasted for a few second before the door finally opened away from Konata.

Kagami appeared from on the other side of the door. A rather flustered and red-faced Kagami at that. Furthermore, she was clad in not much clothing at the moment: a white t-shirt and a pair of panties that matched the color of her hair. "What do you want, Konata?" she blurts out instantly.

"Uh… Well, just that Dad's downstairs and he wants to talk to the both you and Tsukasa."

Kagami's blush faded quickly and the sharpness of her eyes dulled. "He does? What about?"

"Well, remember what he said when you first came here? 'It's a matter of finance'?"

Realization welled on the Hiiragi's face. She knew what was going to happen already. She knew it since the day she was admitted into the Izumi household, but now it was actually happening. "Oh. I see… Ok. We'll be down in a sec."

"Ok." Before Konata left, her eyes could not help but lower and regard Kagami's choice of attire (or lack thereof.) "Hmm. I thought you wore pajamas to bed, Kagami. When did you start wearing le-?" She abruptly stopped when, as her gaze fell onto the other's crotch area, she noticed a rather _noticeable_ darkened spot. She blinked at the sight a few until it finally hit her and, realizing it was more of a _wet_ spot, lifted her now blushing face shooting back up to Kagami's.

It didn't take long for Kagami to figure out what Konata noticed and now _she_ was blushing a deep red color. "I-It not what you're thinking, I swear!" she defended.

Konata poked her head over Kagami's left shoulder and look at the bed on the opposite wall. There was a noticeable, human shaped bulge beneath the sheets. Not only that, but another set of clothes (which Konata recognized as Tsukasa's) sat in a crumpled heap on the floor _next_ to the bed. "… Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

The bulge beneath the sheets flinched, then spoke. "Uh… T-Tsukasa is not here right now. Please leave a message at the Onee-chan and she will get back to you at her earliest convenience… _B-beeeep_."

Izumi turned back to an ever embarrassed Kagami and burst into laughter. "Ha ha ha, that was hilarious! M-Maybe I should tell Dad to wait another twenty minutes?" she jokingly suggested.

Kagami looked pissed. "We'll be down _now_!" she shot back, slamming the door right in Konata face.

Konata continued to chuckle to herself as she descended down the stairs and went into the living room. Her father, Sōjirō, was already sitting at the table and waiting. "Hey," he said to her daughter as she walked in and took a seat to his right. "They coming down?" he asked.

"Yeah, they will in a sec," she answered. "They were a little… _busy_."

His eyes shot open with shock at that last word. "R-Really? They _were_? Like, upstairs, _right now?_"

"Dad, knock it off. These are my friends you're talking about, remember?"

"Oh, right, sorry… But seriously, they _were_?"

"*Sigh* _Yes_ Dad, they were. That means you're cleaning the sheets before we hand the room back to Yutaka… In fact, _I'll_ wash them, just to make sure you don't do anything weird to them."

"_Ah_! K-Konata, I'm appalled! What kind of a person do you think I am!"

Before Konata could laugh back a joking "You know _exactly_ what I mean," the sound of the Hiiragi sister's footsteps came from the stairs. Sōjirō announced that they were in the living room. The sister entered and took a sat in the same spots as before, opposite Konata and her father.

Sōjirō took it upon himself to be the one to start off. "You probably already know what I'm about to say, don't you?" The two seemed to confirm this with silent nods of their heads. "I warned you from the beginning that this would most likely happen."

"N-No, we understand, _really_," said Kagami.

"It's just, well, I simply can't afford to support two more people anymore. In terms of groceries alone, we've gone through what would normally be a week's worth of food in three days. I'm not blaming you for anything, but these are the simple truths."

At _this_, Kagami felt like speaking up. Not two days ago, she witnessed Sōjirō returning home with two _huge_ bags of manga. She felt like there was a small injustice going on in this house and that if, perhaps, Sōjirō spent less money on "reading material," then maybe he _could_ support her and Tsukasa for a bit longer. But she kept her thought within her head. She was already feeling like a burden as it was.

"I'm sorry I have to do this," Sōjirō continued. "Didn't you say there was someone else you could ask to stay with?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Kagami answered. "Tsukasa and I thought we could ask Miyuki Takara if it was ok."

"Yeah," Konata agreed. "Miyuki's rich, so I doubt she's have problem having a couple extra people over for a while."

"Konata, it's not _just_ for that reason. We decided on her because, well, Miyuki seemed like the most understanding. We couldn't imagine _her_ making a big deal of learning about, well, _us_."

Both Konata and her father nodded in agreement. "So it's settled then," said Sōjirō. "Would you like _me_ to call her house or would _you_ rather?" he then asked.

Kagami shook her head. "No, we can call her. Thank you." With that the two got and went into the adjacent room, where the telephone was. The sister made their call and talked with Miyuki's mother, Yukari, for quite a long length of time, and when the conversation ended, they packed their things, thanked Konata and Sōjirō once more for their generous hospitality, and left for the station.

It was then, after they left, that Konata finally told her father what was weighing _her_ down. She sat him down and told him _everything_ about her and Ritsu Tainaka. His response was one of absolute support of his daughter, but at the same time, it was rather predictable.

He was _thrilled_.

-o0o-

The doorbell of the Takara household chimed, sending the sound of bells throughout the entire first floor. Mother of the household, Yukari Takara, who was in a quiet corner of the living room of her large home reading a book, reacted to the bells immediately, as she was expecting visitors already. She bookmarked her book, got up from her chair, walked her way to the front door and opened it up. "Hello," she said to the visitor, both sweetly and with a smile. "You're here early."

The single visitor bowed her blonde head of hair for a full second before lifting it back up, smiling back. "Good evening, Yukari-san," Tsumugi Kotobuki greeted. "Am I early? I thought I was arriving on time."

"Oh, not by much. Please, come in."

Mugi nodded and entered through the front door and into the foyer, taking off her shoes before stepping onto the hardwood floor and into the rest of the house.

"How are things in school going?" Yukari asked.

"Things are fine," Mugi answered. "The light music club is doing well as well."

"Oh good… Well, Miyuki is upstairs in her room. You're welcome to stay for dinner as well, if you feel like it. It's no issue with me." Just then a phone rang not too far away. "Oh dear, I'll get that. Excuse me."

"Oh, it's ok. And thank you," Mugi said back as Yukari turned and scurried off into the next room to take the telephone call. Mugi took that opportunity to escape off up the stairs to Miyuki's room.

She found the appropriate door in the large home without problem, knowing _exactly_ where it was from her previous visits. She knocked four times, to which Miyuki's voice answered from the other side "Come in." For a bedroom, Miyuki's room was somewhat small but rather well furbished. The room was divided into two sections, separated by a thin drywall and sliding door. The door Mugi entered through was the left half, which was a "lounge" of sorts. A couch was positioned against the drywall to the right and it faced a glass coffee table in the room's center and a flat screen television and entertainment system placed against the opposite wall.

She second the door was opened, Miyuki stood up from the couch, putting her own book aside, and greeted Mugi with her usual friendly and warm smile. Mugi entered and shut the door behind her before approaching Miyuki and greeting _her_ with _their_ usual greeting. The two instinctively reached their arms around each other's waists and, once in each other's warm embrace, leaned in to kiss. And these were not short, abridged kisses at all: they were long, drawn out, and above all else, laced with emotion.

Only when the kiss broke a pair of moments later did the two exchange any sort of _vocal_ greeting. "Nice to see you _too_, Kotobuki-san," Miyuki grinned, her arms still locked around the other's waist.

"Likewise," Mugi said back, smiling as well. "What was that you were reading, Yuki-chan?" she then asked.

"Oh, that? It's an old book I found at the local library's book-drive last week. It's rather intriguing." Miyuki let go of Mugi's waist and took a seat on the left end of the couch. Mugi instantly took a seat to Miyuki's right and leaned herself into the other's arm and rested her head atop Miyuki's shoulder.

Miyuki reached back to the table to retrieve her book and handed it to Tsymugi. Indeed the book _was_ old: paper aged to the color of light amber, bound in a fading green hardcover, and an imprinted image on the front, done in _real_ gold leaf, of what looked like a trophy of some sorts. She then checked the spine and read the title aloud.

"_A Mortal Antipathy_," she read as she handed the book back to Miyuki. "I've never heard of that one before. Is it any good?"

"This book was published well over one hundred years ago," Miyuki began to explain, "so it might be understandable why people might not have heard of it before. And yes, from what I've already read of it, it's quite good."

"How far are you?"

"Only a few chapters, not that far into it… Kotobuki-san, you can watch television if you want to. I can read with it on."

"Ok then." Mugi sat up to reach for the remote on the coffee table but halted when she realized that, in the bottom right corner of said table, there were _five_ remotes, each of them drastically different looking than each other. "Uh… Which one is-?"

"Second one to the left."

"Thank you~"

Tsumugi grabbed the correct remote and turned on the flat screen, returning to her position of nestling up against Miyuki. They spent the next ten or so minutes in this close position, Miyuki flipping through the pages and Mugi flipping through the channels. Every so often, Mugi would adjust her position and nudge up closer and tighter to Miyuki, to which Miyuki did not seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, it looked like she was enjoying every moment of it.

For all the channel surfing Mugi was doing, she was finding nothing interesting to watch. She finally switched to an anime channel and left it there, hoping something better would be on next. She decided to strike up conversation to fill the uneventful void. "Hey, Yuki-chan," she began.

"Hmm?" she replied from her reading, her eyes not lifting from the pages.

"I just thought of something. Do, uh, do your friends at school know about… _us_?"

"O-Oh. Actually, no, I have yet to tell them. Why? Do _your_ friends know?"

"I'll get to that in a sec. First, why don't you tell them? Afraid?"

Miyuki closed her bookmarked her page and placed the book back into the coffee table. Now undistracted, she pivoted herself toward Mugi's direction. Mugi adjusted _her_ positioning, and now, blonde was leaning backwards into Miyuki, the two nearly spooning. "Well," she finally answered, "to be completely honest… I kind of _am_ afraid of how they'll react."

"_Really?_ Why? I've met Konata, Tsukasa, and Kagami before, and they don't seem like the kind of people to get mad or upset at you."

"You're right, I don't think they would get _angry_ or anything like that, but… I guess I'm more afraid that rumors will run wild before I can set the records straight. I guess _that's_ what I'm more afraid of."

"Hmm," Mugi thoughtfully hummed back. "So you're not afraid of what your _friends_ think, but rather, what _others_ will think."

"Exactly. So far, I've only told Mother and it took her a long time to calm down after I told her."

"_She_ freaked out?"

"That would be putting it lightly. I think she suffered a mild panic attack. It took her the longest time to come down from it afterward."

"But she wasn't mad?"

"Oh no, just surprised… What about your parents, Kotobuki-san? Have you told them?"

Mugi paused. "… No," was her direct answer.

"Why not?"

The keyboardist once again shuffled up against Miyuki, but this time it was not for comfort. "… Yuki-chan, you know as well as I do that my dad is never around. He's _always_ away on business trips… I haven't seen him in _months_."

"Oh, sorry," the pinkette quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject."

"No, it's ok, Yuki-chan. You have it better, at least. You _have_ a parent that's still around: your mother. _I'm _more close to my _butlers_ than I am to my own father- Hmm?"

Mugi felt Miyuki move from beneath her. The bespectacled girl slid herself down into more of a lying position, the back of her head resting on the couch's end pillow. Mugi changed her position in response, flipping herself onto her stomach and sliding herself up, now lying her entire body atop Miyuki's, their faces at the same level.

The two leaned forward again to kiss. Miyuki knew her girlfriend would never object to the offer of this act, and she _knew_ it would put her in a better mood. It _always_ seemed to work with Mugi. "You don't need to worry about it," Miyuki assured Mugi.

"But, uh, Yuki-chan, now I want to ask you about… _your_ dad."

"… Oh…" the bespectacled girl's voice cracked. Now it was Miyuki's turn to act indirect. _She_ averted her gaze of Mugi, turning her eyes to her left.

Mugi quickly retracted her words. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's ok, Kotobuki-san. I can talk about. It's just a subject I don't talk about often."

The blonde changed her position yet again. She rolled off of atop of her lover and instead lay down next to her atop the couch. Because the cushions was rather thin, the two had to press together to stay on the couch at the same time. The two's breasts pressed together and their noses were separated by no more than an inch or two's distance.

The pinkette sighed before she indulged the other in her story. "Well, my Dad… He died when I was ten years old."

"Oh dear! How did he-?"

"Car accident. He was coming home late from work one day when he was struck at an intersection by a drunk driver. Both were killed… I remember coming home from school the day after the accident, mother taking me into the living room, sitting me down, and telling me what happened… I couldn't stop crying for literally an hour."

Tsumugi leaned forward to give comfort: a series of soft, supple pecks on the lips. Miyuki smiled at the gift, showing she truly was grateful, and then continued to tell her story. "As it turned out, the drunk driver was an off-duty police officer from two towns _away._ Not only that but they found numerous illegal substances in his system. I remember Mother going to court against the police department and the town for allowing someone with that amount of illegal substances in his body to serve on a police force. The evidence was stacked against the department and the case was disclosed out of court for an 'undisclosed amount.'

… I guess, in retrospect, Dad is part of the reason we live in the condition we do."

Again, Mugi leaned forward to give her comfort. "Oh my God, Yuki-chan, I had no idea… How did you mom handle this?"

"W-Well, I-I remember…" Tears made a sudden appearance in the girl's eyes, tears that rolled across her face and fell to the couch's cushioned surface. "Since he passed on, every now and then, I'd come home from school and find mom crying, and I'd know she was thinking of Dad. When that happens, I'd talk to her about my and that would take her mind off of things, I'd make her a cup of her favorite tea, make her dinner, and she would feel better by the time she went to bed.

This still happens from time to time, now occurring about once or twice a week now-"

This time, Mugi leaned forward and buried _her_ crying eyes into Miyuki's right shoulder. The pinkette's story evoked emotions within the blonde, so much so that it drove her to cry out. Miyuki comforted her back by wrapping _her_ arms around the other before _then_ giving her a few pecks on the right side of her neck. "It's ok, Kotobuki-san," she whispered into her ear. "You don't need to feel sad for me."

It took her a few moments, but Tsumugi eventually lifted her head from the other's shoulder and brought her weeping visage back in front of Miyuki's. "I-I'm sorry, Yuki-chan. It's just so sad to hear that such a terrible thing happened to you."

"Please don't worry, Kotobuki-san…" Miyuki reassured her girlfriend. "You always make me feel better."

The tears from both seemed to subside, and after they pulled themselves even closer, the two got lost in each other's displays of affection: the holding of hands and the sharing of many deepened kisses. So involved and lost, they were, that they completely lost track of time. A full half an hour passed when finally an event brought their moment of togetherness to an abrupt halt.

The door to Miyuki's room shot open and her mother appeared on the other side. "Miyuki, dear, there's some downstairs that- Aah!" She suddenly yelped as she laid eyes upon the sight of her daughter and Miss Kotobuki engaged in quite the _intimate_ moment.

Just as both girls leapt up from the couch, Yukari spun around a full one hundred eighty degrees. "I-I'm sorry, I should have knocked!" she blurted in a panicked, embarrassed manner. "I didn't mean to intrude, I promise!"

Miyuki took a moment to straighten out her clothes. "I-It's ok, Mother. Um, you said someone was downstairs?"

"Y-Yes. A couple of your friends from school are downstairs right now: Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi."

Both Mugi _and_ Miyuki's eyes shot open at the telling of their names. "Both of them are here _now_? For what reason?"

"Um… I think you should come downstairs so they can tell you _themselves_."

The two students shared a worried glance. Miyuki then replied to her mother "Ok, I'll be down in a second. Thank you." With that Yukari left and shut the door behind her.

"The Hiiragi sisters," Tsumugi commented. "Why do you think they're here?"

"I… I simply have no clue, Kotobuki-san… Though I can't help but feel a little uneasy."

"I feel the same way."

"Well, they'll just be waiting the loner I'm up here… Ok, I'm going to see what's going on. Kotobuki-san, please stay here. I'm still not ready to tell my friends about us. Sorry."

"No, I understand. Good luck, Yuki-chan." Mugi said this with another warm smile. "Love you."

Miyuki smiled back. "… Love you, too." And with one final nod, she left for the downstairs.

She entered the living room and was immediately met with the sight of both Kagami and Tsukasa and Kagami sitting adjacent to each other on one couch and her mother sitting on another couch that face the two. "Kagami-san. Tsukasa-san," Miyuki greeted. "This is an unexpected visit."

Yukari nodded. "Miyuki, dear, please sit next to me." With trepidation she did just that, and once seated, Yukari then asked the two sisters to tell Miyuki what they had just told _her_. For a split second in time, Miyuki felt like she was ten years old and it was that day she was told her father was killed. Fortunately, this was not like that day, but the message she was relayed was just as jarring.

Tsukasa and Kagami told Miyuki _everything_: how their feelings began during the battle between Sawako and Nanako, how Tsukasa finally confessed, the moment they came out before their whole family, the expulsion from their home, and how they had spent the last three days at Konata's house. Now they asked to be allowed to stay at _her_ home.

Miyuki's reaction was one to be expected: disbelief. Shock and astonishment. For the first moments after the retelling of their story reached its completion, Miyuki found it hard to say _anything_. Genuine worry flooded her visage, but when it came to vocalization, _nothing_.

Yukari spoke in her daughter's place, but not before first getting up from her seat and rushing over to the two and sandwiching the two twins' head against her cleavage in a seemingly crushing hug. They way the twins cringed just before Yukari hugged them made it clear to Miyuki that she had did this once already before she arrived downstairs.

"Oh you poor souls," she cried, the grip of her arms unrelenting. "I can understand the pain you must be feeling right now, being such a minority, feeling so unsure and sacred." Now _Miyuki_ cringed. Yukari was inadvertently giving away too much information about her own daughter. If she kept it up she might reveal Miyuki's secret before _she herself_ did.

"T-Thank you, Yukari-san," Tsukasa managed to strain from the mother's crushing hug.

She let go a moment later, giving the sisters a second to gasp for air. "Please, you two are _more _than welcome to say here for as long as you like. I'll get some sheets for one of the guest rooms. Stay here, I'll take care of everything." Yukari took off immediately and headed upstairs, leaving the three girls along in the living room.

Kagami turned back to Miyuki. "Your mom is extremely nice," she commented.

"Uh, t-thank you, Kagami-san…"

"We're sorry to put all this on you so suddenly, but-"

"No, please, it's quite alright. I don't think I could possibly deny such a request from a friend, especially given the circumstances." Footsteps sounded coming down the stairwell from the other room. "Huh? Mother is done already? That can't be…"

And indeed it wasn't. Instead, a certain blonde appeared from the stairwell as she entered the living room. "Yuki-chan?" she said to Miyuki. "What's talking so long-?" Only then did she notice that Kagami and Tsukasa were still in the room with her. "Oh! You two are still _here_… M-My mistake."

She was just about to leave when Miyuki shot up from her seat and rushed over to explain to Tsumugi what had happened. "Oh, Kotobuki-san!" she exclaimed, grabbing the other's hands. "Both Tsukasa-san and Kagami-san came out to their family and… And their mother kicked them out of the house!"

Mugi's now shocked face turned to the two sisters. "Oh my God… T-This is such a shock! I-I… I don't know what to say! I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you both."

"Mother is giving them one of the upstairs guestrooms for the time being," Miyuki then explained.

"Oh, well _that's_ good news… Oh dear, now I feel a little out of place being here. Maybe it's about time I headed back home." Tsumugi looked back to the two sisters. "Good luck, you two. Don't give up hope," then turned back to Miyuki. "See you later, Yuki-chan." And then, perhaps without thinking, Mugi gave the pinkette her _usual_ goodbye before quickly heading out the door: a quick, if not _telling,_ kiss on the lips.

The room was _awfully_ quiet after Mugi left, leaving even _more_ stunned sisters to stare at their friend in a new light. "… M-Miyuki?" Kagami finally managed to say. "You… and _Mugi_?"

Slowly the bespectacled girl turned back to the others. She first gave the two an "Oh shit" kind of a look back, but she then thought to herself "_Well, they would have found out sooner or later_," and instead switched her look to a smile. "… Yes," she finally replied back, "it's true. Kotobuki-san and I are… Well, like _you_ two, I suppose." Both sisters now had hanging jaws as _none_ of the two could have imagined _this_. "Oh, but please," Miyuki continued. "You two must be very tired after such a day. You should both get some sleep." It was a clever move on Miyuki's part. It would delay her giving the twins an explanation, at least for tonight.

Yukari returned downstairs when the guestroom was all set and Miyuki then lead Kagami and Tsukasa upstairs to it. Once they both seemed situated, Miyuki retreated to her room for her _own_ solitude. What began as a normal day quickly turned to a night of unexpected happenings. And right now, the pinkette wanted nothing more than a friendly voice to ease her thoughts.

And thankfully for her, Tsumugi Kotobuki was there to help. Miyuki called her up during the night she stayed with her on the line for a few hours on end into the night until Miyuki finally slipped off to sleep.

-o0o-

Much like many other evenings, Sakuragaoka High's light music club advisor, Sawako Yamanaka, found herself driving back home after a day of work. She took the all too familiar route back with the expectation that waiting home for her was her wife, Nanako. But today was slightly different, not because Sawako did not expect Nanako's presence, but it was because she _guaranteed_ herself Kuroi would be there.

Why? Because, as opposed to Sakura, Ryoo High had no school today, due to the fact that today was the date of the school's founding. And if Sawako knew her wife well, she knew Nanako would spend the entire day home, no doubt engrossed in a non-stop session of online games. Such was her expectations when she finally parked her car in the driveway and entered their home.

"_Tadaima_," she greeted as she entered the foyer. She received no reply back. Sawako was half expecting this sort of reply so she thought nothing of it. After taking off her shoes she strolled into the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of beer from the fridge. After she had popped the top of the bottle and taken a swig or two, Sawako decided to _call_ for Kuroi.

"Yo! Nanako, you here?" Nothing. She then assumed she was in their room, where their computer was. It made the most sense: all day gaming sessions need computers to play the game on, _duh_. Beer in hand she walked up the stairs and, as Sawako approached the closed door of their room, she became aware of a voice from the other side, one she instantly recognized as Nanako's. "_So she really **hasn't **moved all day, has she? Can't say I'm all that surprised._"

Then, when Sawako opened the bedroom door, the shock of what she saw nearly caused her to drop her beer. Yes, indeed, it looked like Nanako spent the entire day in front of the computer, but Sawako didn't think the sight would be to _this_ extent.

The computer first and foremost, was opened up to World of Warcraft. The desk the monitor and keyboard sat atop of was littered in small dirty plates, each one encrusted with long hardened food, which were amongst used tea mugs, water bottles, chip bags with their crumbs scattered about, and, inexplicably, a lone sock. To the right of the keyboard was a small desk fan that blew a constant wind at Nanako's face. Scattered about the floor was even more discarded trash and whatnot.

But that was not what freaked Sawako out the most. No, rather, _that_ pertained to what Nanako was wearing (which was, to say, next to nothing.) Sitting on a small stool, her legs folded up to create an "M" shape with her body, Nanako was wearing nothing more than a pair of navy blue panties. No pants, socks, shoes, shirt, or _bra_ to speak of. Except for the addition of a matching colored hair tie that kept it in a ponytail and a gaming headset, Nanako was wearing only the previously mentioned underwear.

"… N-Nanako?" Sawako finally said.

The blonde peaked over her left shoulder and saw Sawako standing there. "I'll be back in a bit, guys," she told her guild members through the headset, "my wife just got home." She slipped the head off and tossed it onto the desk before she spun her entire self around toward Sawako, bare chest exposed and not seeming to give a single care.

"Yo, Sawako," she greeted. "How's it goin'?" Though she said this giving a rather peppy (if not rather goofy) smile, the bags under eyes told without words that Kuroi had been playing the game for a _long_ while.

"… What the hell do you think you're doing?" Yamanaka then asked.

"… I, uh, don't think I get what you mean."

She could not help but give a grin of superiority. "Let me take a _wild_ guess here… You've been here playing games on the computer all day, haven't you?"

"Hmm… _maybe_," Nanako replied.

"How many hours, woman? Be honest."

"Depends. What time is it now?"

"It's 18:00 now."

"And what time do you usually leave for work again?"

"The same time as _you_: eight-o-clock."

"Then I've been at it for _that_ long." She looked rather proud at stating this point.

Sawako added up the numbers in her head. "… Ten _hours_? You've been playing for ten hours straight!"

"Not _straight_. That would be _nuts_. I got up a few times to go to the bathroom, _obviously_."

"Don't be a smartass. Ok, now for the obvious question: why the fuck are you _naked_?"

"I'm not _naked_. I'm wearing underwear," Nanako defended reaching for the clothing item's elastic waistband and giving it a *snap.* "See?"

"Yeah, but that's _all_ you're wearing. You don't even have a shirt on!"

"Well, it gets hot in front of the computer, you know? The tower gives off a lot of heat during long sessions." Sawako peaked around Nanako to snatch a look at said tower. She could have sworn she saw visible heat waves emanating from the thing.

"Well no _shit_ it's giving off that much heat. It's been on for ten hours straight! You don't even have the window behind the screen open, Nanako!" There was a window to the cool night air _right_ behind the monitor.

"But if I open it, I'll be _cold_," Kuroi whined back.

"Then that's when you put fucking _clothes_ on, ya idiot! God, I _knew_ this was going to happen when I left for work today, but your surpassed my expectations in 'slacking,' Nanako."

"Aww, thanks~!" Nanako beamed back.

"That wasn't a complement, _baka_!"

"Oh don't be so mad, Sawa-chan," the blonde teased right back. "Besides, I bet you secretly _like_ seeing me like this…" She got up from the stood and walked over to Sawako, giving her hips a provocative jive. "All bare and exposed," she whispered, "hot, sweaty, _dirty_." She slipped behind Sawako and grabbed her by the shoulders, now whispering in her ear. "Hell, one little, tiny piece of clothing is the only thing separating us from a _good time_."

"… You're screwing with me, Nanako…"

"_And_…?"

"… It worked."

The beer bottle slipped from Sawako's hand and before it even hit the ground, she had already thrown Nanako onto the bed and pounced on top of her. The auburn-haired woman clamped her lips around Nanako's and their tongues lashed at each other, fighting for dominance.

"Damn you, Nanako," Sawako cursed through hardened breaths once the initial kiss broke. "You piss me off so fucking much. I _want_ to be mad at you for doing exactly what I expected you do today: _nothing_. I want to be pissed off at you…

But **_fuck_** do you know how to flip the right switches to turn me on!" Her mouth shot back down and began to attack Kuroi's neck.

"Ah! Oh, I _knew_ I would…" she whispered back. "Face it, Sawako, you can't win all your battles against me."

"Oh-ho! Ok, so you may have one _this_ battle," she admitted before shooting her right hand down to a very _specific_ spot of Nanako's body, an action that caused the blonde to yelp, "but _I_ intend to win the _war_."

Meanwhile, somewhere in Azaroth, a clan wondered why the hell their wizard wasn't responding.

* * *

><p><strong>[Author's Notes]<strong> Two in one day? Yes. To make a long story short, bathroom is being renovated and I spent three days at my Grandmother's house. Since there was no internet there (or at least no unsecured networks I could work off of :3) I really had nothing to do but watch t.v and write in word. And in those three days, I cranked out _both_ chapters 2 and 3. It shouldn't take isolation from the internet to be the main reason for me to write, but damnit the internet is so full of fun that it's hard to concentrate on one thing. (Damn you, ADHD. Damn you and your unproductive nature to hell.)


	4. Parental Scares

Chapter 4

14.) What is the **x** intercept of the line **-3x + y = 3**?

A.) (0,0)

B.) (-1,0)

C.) (0,-1)

D.) None of the Above

This was the last problem to solve on Satoshi Tainaka's algebra homework. A simple enough equation for him. Though the problem was multiple choice, his teacher had given the direct order to his students to "Show your work for each problem." Satoshi found that sort of redundant because, well, what is the point of making it multiple choice if you have to show your work anyway, which gives the answer _already_. Regardless he proceeded to write out his solution, replacing the **y** with zero and getting and answer of **x = -1**, and thus mean the answer to the multiple choice was (B).

"Finally," he sighed to himself. "Finished."

With that last equation solved, the boy packed up the books and papers that littered the surface of his computer desk back into his backpack. It had only taken him an hour's time to finish his homework for _all_ his school subjects, bringing the time of the day to 16:00 exactly. He then spent the next hour or two engaging in several rounds of online shooters, during which time he heard her sister return from her after school club, head upstairs, and go into her room, and then his parents come home not too long after that.

He only became aware of the current time when his cell phone, which sat in his right pant pocket, began to vibrate. He quickly quit his game and retrieved the device to see that not only was it currently 18:23, but it was his girlfriend that was calling. He smiled to himself as he brought the phone to his ear and answered with a casual "Sup, Misa-chan."

The reply he got back couldn't have been more opposite. "_This is not good_," Misao's panicked voice said back. "_This is so **not** fucking good!_"

The boy blinked. "… W-What? Misa-chan? Is that _you_?"

"_Yes, it's me ya idiot! And right now, we are **both** in deep shit. **Deep** deep shit!_"

"H-Hold on, what are you talking about!"

"_Sato-kun, I… I- I'm four day's late!_"

Again the boy blinked. "… Late for what?" he asked back.

"_Wha-? Are you a fucking **idiot?** I'm four day's late on my period!_" Misao explained. "_Do you at least know what **that** means?_"

"No, I _don't_, Misa-chan. Why are you getting so worked up?" The boy truly had no clue.

"_You dumbass! It **means**- It means that I might be pregnant!_"

_*Beep*_ Satoshi terminated the call.

Immediately the boy collapsed to his knees, his mind now racing with panicked thoughts. His face turned an intense livid shade. "_Oh God, oh God, oh God- W-Wha- How could this happen! If Misa-chan really **is-** Oh fuck, why!_"

The boy's phone vibrated once more in his hand and he answered after a split instant. Misao sounded none too pleased on the other end. "_Did you just fucking hang up on me?_" she screamed.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to," Satoshi apologized as he got back onto his feet.

"_What do you mean you 'didn't mean to'!_"

"M-My finger slipped- Look, whatever! Misa-chan, what makes you think you might be p-pregnant?"

"_Because you stop having your period when you **are** pregnant, Sato-kun! Didn't they teach you this stuff in school?_"

"W-Well, we were only taught about the _male_ anatomy in Sex Ed. I think they teach the female half next yea-"

"_Whatever! Sato-kun, do you get what I'm saying here?_"

"I-I get it, I get it! B-But I thought because, well, since we use condoms and stuff, that things like this wouldn't happen!"

"_There's **always** a chance something like this could happen. It's like less than 1%, but it's still there._"

"… You never told me that!"

"_I **thought** you** knew**!_"

"Well hell of a fucking time to tell me _now_!" Satoshi _himself_ gasped at his own words. This was the first time he had ever sworn at Misao like this. In fact, this was their first real fight. "… I-I'm sorry, Misa-chan. I didn't mean to-… L-Look, how do you _know_ you're pregnant? Aren't there tests that you pee on the-?"

"_Well **yeah**, but I can't get any_," Misao answered.

"Why not?"

"_Because I'm not allowed out of the house, Sato-kun. I'm confined to my room._"

"Not allo-? Oh _shit_… M-Misa-chan, d-did you tell your _parents_ that you were…?"

"_I **had** to tell them. I told them I was late on my period and they just- blew up! I asked if I could go and buy some tests but they just sent me to my room_. _That's why I'm calling you now, Sato-kun. They're planning to call your parents later tonight so they can set up some sort of meeting._"

" _What?_ You mean they're going to call _my_ house?"

"_Yes… How do you think **they** will react, Sato-kun?_"

The very _thought_ of imaging how his parents would react to such news sent an icy chill down the boy's spine. He knew _exactly_ how they were going to react: they were going to be furious, no doubt about it. "… Badly," he replied.

"_Hmm… Do you think… You think they'll keep us from seeing each other?_"

"_Yeah_, Misa-chan, that's pretty much a given… Uh, t-thanks for telling me before my parents figured out. I-I promise, we'll talk later, ok-?"

"_Wait, Sato-kun_!" Misao cut the boy off before he could hang up. "_What will you do if, well, I really **am** pregnant_?"

"… I-I don't know, Misa-chan- B-But we'll think of something… Jesus, I feel a little light-headed right now. I think I need to lie down."

"_Y-Yeah, probably a good idea. Give me a call later tonight_?"

"Sure. Talk to you soon, then."

"_'Kay… I love you, Sato-kun._"

"… Bye." And once again, the line was terminated.

The boy felt weak enough to faint at any given moment. His legs quivered with both shock and fear, threatening to bring him to his knees once again. Not only that, but his hands shook with just as much ferocity, causing him to stumble a few times as he slipped his phone back into his pant pocket. And on top of _all_ of this, he legitimately felt like throwing up. The fear was _that_ intense.

After all, he was but a thirteen year old boy. At his age, what are life's dilemmas but homework and the occasional pimple or two? Now, Satoshi had placed before him a crisis that he himself felt idiotic at not thinking about it _earlier_: parenthood. And he had not a single idea of how to proceed next, except to ask for help. But _who_…?

There was only one person he felt that could garnish sympathy to his cause. Upon quaking legs did Satoshi walk himself out of his room, down the upstairs hall, and to the second door on his left: the door to his sister's room.

He banged his fist thrice upon its surface. "Nee-chan!" he uttered. "Nee-chan I need your help."

Ritsu's annoyed voice sounded from the other side. "Go away, twerp!" she said. "I'm busy!"

"But I _really_ need your help with something!"

"I'm doing my homework right now. Can't it wait?"

"No, it- Wait. You're not doing your homework, Nee-chan. You _never_ do your homework!"

"I _am too_, twerp!"

"Then tell me what subject you're doing _right now_." With any luck, Satoshi's bluff would be correct.

There was a pause. "… What do you want, Satoshi?" It _was_ correct.

"I-" He stopped to glance at the stairs to his right and to hear if anyone was coming up or near them. When he heard nothing of the sort, he continued, but in a whisper. "Nee-chan, I am in seriously deep _shit_ right now. I need your help. _Please_."

Again, a pause of silence came from within the room, but this time, it was followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. A second later, the door opened away from Satoshi, revealing Ritsu on the other side, dressed down in regular, non-school attire. Currently the bangs of her hair were held up vertically by a single yellow hair clip (which made her look rather silly to the boy.) He would have laughed had the situation not been so grim.

The girl heaved an immediate sigh of annoyance before asking her brother "What's going on then- AH!" She yelped when she took notice of the state the boy was in: his livid skin and the shaking of his extremities being the most noticeable. "Jesus, what's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost, Satoshi… Hell, you _look_ like a ghost."

The boy stuttered back a response. "That's b-because I'm freakin' _terrified_! I'm seriously freaking out, Nee-chan, and I need your help!" The desperation in his eyes was impossible to miss.

"Uh, sure..." Ritsu said back to Satoshi. She then motioned her gaze back into her room, a silent command for Satoshi to get in. The boy did just that, his sister shutting and locking the door. "Sit down, too. You look like you're about to collapse at any second." Satoshi pulled out the chair at Ritsu's desk and literally fell backwards into it. "Ok… What the hell's up, Sato?"

The boy Tainaka heaved a long, heavy, drawn-out breath before replying. "Well, i-it's about Misao." A chill shot up Ritsu's spine in an instant. _Already_ she feared what was about to be said. She remained quite though. "She just called me a few minutes ago. S-She said that she might b-be… pregnant…"

Ritsu gasped. "Oh Jesus…" she sighed. Her expression quickly switched from shocked to angry in a blink. "Damnit, Satoshi, I thought you were smarter than this. You told me you weren't stupid enough to go bareback!"

"B-But I haven't!"

"And I- Huh? You _haven't_?" The boy shook his head. "Not _once? **Ever?**_" Again, his head shook. "Then how do you know she's even-"

"She called me, I told you. She said that she was- Well, late on her period, she said."

"Oh… _Oh_…" Worry now flooded onto her visage. "That's… That's not good, Satoshi. That is not good _at all_."

"W-What? Nee-chan, it that really that bad?"

"Well… Well, it's not _unheard of_ for women to have late periods, but it's only for a day or two at the most. Did Misao say how many days late she was?"

"Four."

"Oh _shit_."

"Nee-chan! You're not helping me here!" Satoshi exclaimed.

"Well _sorry_," she apologized, "but everything you're telling me is not good at all! If a woman has missed a period for that long, it usually means one of two things: one, that she has hit menopause, or two, she's pregnant, and seeing as Misao's only eighteen, chances are its Number Two here."

Satoshi again looked like he was about to collapse, his skin turning a whiter shade of pale. "Shit, shit, shit," he began to mutter to himself, his palms pressed firmly against the sides of his head. And he would have continued further had Ritsu not stepped in and placed a hand on his right shoulder, causing him to stop and look up.

"Sato, _breathe_," she commanded. "Deep breaths, before you have a heart attack or something." The boy did as instructed and took deep, measured breaths in and out for a few moments. The color in his skin returned after half a minute or so. "Listen," Ritsu continued. "I know shit sucks right now, but I have to be straight with you. What's happened has happened and ya can't change that. The best thing you can do now is just man up and face this head-on. Understand?"

"… Y-Yeah," he shakily replied. "B-But, what should I do, Nee-chan?"

"Hmm…" she thought. "Do Misao's parents know about this?"

"Yes, they do. Actually, that was part of the reason Misa-chan called me. Her parents are going to call Mom and Dad _tonight_."

"I see… Well, I think I know what you should do then, Sato: tell Mom and Dad before _they_ do. They might be _slightly_ less furious if you're the one to tell them, know what I mean?"

"Hmm, you might be right… *Sigh* Ok then… Damnit, this fucking_ sucks_."

"Yeah, I know it does, but you gotta man up and take responsibility for this, Satoshi. Running away will only make things worse."

"Right, right…" The boy stood up from the chair upon _still_-shaking legs. "Better do it now, before Misa-chan's parents think to call."

"I'll be there to back ya up," Ritsu reassured him. Then, with his sister following close behind, Satoshi left Ritsu's room and headed downstairs and into the home's kitchen, where both their mother and father were.

Yuko Tainaka, the mother, was standing in front of a counter surface adjacent to the oven, where she was mincing a portion of onions. It was clear that Ritsu gained her hair color from her mother, for it was the exactly same (of which Yuko's was longer in length and tied into a bun.) Unlike a certain Hiiragi, the experience of childbirth struck Yuko in a bad way. Nearly two decades later and it seemed she _still_ was having trouble shedding off the baby weight. Not to mention the sag of her breasts was evident, no doubt due to the amount of breast feeding she endured.

The father, Yuji Tainaka, in contrast, was quite svelte for his age, not to mention tall. He was a giant amongst Japanese, standing an impressive six-foot-two. It was clear as well that Satoshi inherited his father's hair gene. His hair was cut short as well. It seemed that Yuji didn't bother to change out of his work clothes: a white button-down shirt, skinny black tie, and black khakis. _He_ currently sat at the dinner table reading the newspaper, his prescription glasses sitting at the end of his nose.

Satoshi stood in the open doorway that separated the hallway from the kitchen, Ritsu standing right behind him. It would take a full ten seconds or so before their mother lifted her eyes off her cooking long enough to notice the two. "Oh, you two came down," she said to them with a grin. "Dinner's not quite ready yet." Yuji glanced up for a brief moment but returned to his newspaper just as quickly.

Once more, the boy breathed in a huge gulp of air before he proceeded. "… Everyone, I-"

The phone rang. "I'll get it," Yuji immediately offered, and before Satoshi could choke out an interjection, his father had already got up from his seat, tossing the paper aside onto the kitchen table's surface, and walked himself over to the wall mounted telephone near him.

"Hello, Tainaka residence… Yes, I am Satoshi's father, but what-… He did _WHAT?_"

If Satoshi didn't die right then and there, it wasn't because he didn't want to.

-o0o-

Since the next day was Saturday, the parents of Misao and Satoshi decided to have a meet-up that very next day, as soon as possible. The morning of that day was extraordinarily quiet. The mister and misses of the Tainaka family seemed to speak very little to Satoshi, both of them furious at the major bombshell dropped the night previous. At around noon, the family set off in the mother's sedan to the Kusakabe residence. It could have been considered the most silent car ride one could ever endure and _none_ spoke during its entirety. Even the car radio seemed too fearful to utter a sound.

Eventually the vehicle reached its destination and pulled into the driveway. Everyone left the car and the parents, side by side, made their slow approach of the front door, Satoshi and Ritsu following close behind, the both of _them_ side by side.

The door opened up only a few second after Yuji rang the doorbell. Both mister and misses Kusakabe greeted them on the other side: Kyuske and Misato, respectively. Both parents looked physically fit for their age (which seemed, for the both of them, to be no more than their exact forties.) The father's short hair was a dark blond while the mother shared the exact same color hair as Misao herself (though Misato's was done in a lengthier style than that of her daughter.)

The parents all bowed to each other and greeted themselves in modest tones before the Kusakabes invited the Tainakas inside. Once inside and after the visiting family removed their shoes, they migrated into the kitchen where Misato has prepared tea for everyone, where Misao also waited. Her and Satoshi's eyes locked the very moment the boy entered. Then, as Ritsu's eyes met Misao's, both flashed with remembrance. _Both_ recognized each other from the airsoft match between Sawako and Nanako.

Also in the room was another member of the Kusakabe family: Ren, Misao's older brother of twenty one years, who had the same color hair as his father (though longer) and the toned physique of a competitive swimmer. His jaw nearly dropped the second Satoshi appeared before him. He had only heard about the pregnancy scare yesterday (as did Satoshi) and decided to leave his university dorm to provide emotional support for his little sister. He knew Satoshi only by name and by what Misao has told of him _to_ him. He had assumed all this time Satoshi was the same age _as_ Misao, so imagine his surprise and anger to see a _thirteen_ year old arrive at his home.

After a few minutes of formalities amongst the adults, their intentions were finally made clear to the children. Kyuske turned to Ren. "Ren," he began, "can I count on you to keep Misao and the others in the living room while we," which referred to the adults exclusively, "discuss things?"

Ren turned his now glaring eyes back to Satoshi, shooting him a heated look that made the young boy flinch. He grinned and replied "Gladly." Murderous intent was written all over his face.

With that, all the parents left the kitchen and headed into the adjacent dining room. As they left, Ren stood up from his chair, standing just a tall as Yuji, and forcefully grabbed Satoshi by the back on his neck, leading him and the girls to the home's living room. In the room's center was a glass coffee table and around it was placed both a couch and loveseat (the very same loveseat Misao's and Satoshi's first time occurred atop of.)

Misao was the first to sit out of the four, taking a seat on the loveseat. Ren released his grip of Satoshi's neck and, once free, he made a drawn-out hesitation of a few minutes before he began his approach of the loveseat, intent of sitting next to Misao. But he soon found himself back in Ren's grip. "You aren't sitting anywhere _near_ her, lover boy," he threatened through clenched teeth. Ren then nearly _threw_ Satoshi ass-first onto the couch, putting as much distance between him and his sister.

Ritsu finally spoke up at this. "Hey!" she snapped. "That's _my_ brother you're knocking around, _bub_." She looked none too intimidated by the taller man, giving him a glare.

He returned the glare back at her. "Yeah, _your_ brother that knocked up _my sister_. I don't know how the hell you're so calm about all this…"

"_Ritsu_. The name's Ritsu. And I'm calm about this because _I_ know Satoshi didn't do this on purpose! It was an accident."

"Yeah, hell of a freakin' accident. I mean, for Christ's sake, I thought this kid was going to be _Misao's_ age, so-" He quickly turned back to Satoshi to aim a finger at him. "How the hell old _are_ you, kid!"

"T-Thirteen," he meekly replied.

"Thirt-? _Jesus Christ_… You know what, you little punk? I ought to kick you freakin' ass right now for-!"

"Ren!" Misao finally spoke, shooting up from her seat simultaneously. "Knock it off!"

"Wha-? But, Misao, I'm trying to do what's best for you. I mean come on, he-"

"I get you mean well and all, be Sato-kun's _still_ my boyfriend, so I don't appreciate you threatening him like that."

"But _imouto-_"

"Don't give me that 'imouto' crap, Ren. Besides, who are _you_ to tell me what's best for me anyway? Maybe I should tell all your friends about Ayano, _huh_?"

Her brother's head reeled back at the mention of the name. "You _wouldn't_!"

"Keep threatening Sato-kun and I _just might_."

Both Satoshi and Ritsu watched the back-and-forth not know anything about what they were talking about, but judging from how Misao seemed to have the upper hand, something told them that if Ren's friends or peers knew about this "Ayano", his credibility could possibly be damaged or ruined.

Ren seemed to visibly back down after his sister's backlash, but he nevertheless continued to speak his mind. "Still doesn't matter," he said. "Mom and Dad are still going to bring the hammer down on 'Sato-kun' here." He said the name in an obvious mock. "You're still gonna fry, kid, believe me." The boy voiced a worried moan at this.

Just then, Ritsu stepped in. "Well then, if you, Ren, can grill my little brother, I think that gives me the right to drill a few question into your_ sister_." She calmly and, with a surprising amount of confidence in her step, walked over to the loveseat and stood directly in front of Misao, face to face. "Sit," she commanded, to which Misao did just that.

The drummer crossed her arms across her chest before proceeding with her first question. "So, _you're_ the chick that's been fucking my little brother, eh?" Everyone but Ritsu's face (Misao the more so) turned a bright red in the blink of an eye. "You know, when Satoshi told me he had a girlfriend, I was honestly surprised. Hell, before then, I thought he was gay."

"N-Nee-chan!" Satoshi protested, but his sister continued unabated.

"At first I didn't think much of it. I thought it was just a stupid little crush he had… But _then_ when he let it slip that you two were having sex, that's when I actually believed what he was saying. _Then _he told me how _old_ you were…" She bent forward and brought herself back face-to-face with Misao, said faces no more than a foot distance apart. "_Now_ I'm not sure _how_ to feel…" Her eyes narrowed to something reminiscent of a glare. "_Worried_ or _otherwise_?"

Misao swallowed a fearful gulp. Any second now, she was expecting Ritsu to jump her. She seemed angry enough to do so at the moment, if her tone of voice was any indication.

"_Well_?" Ritsu pressed. "Tell me, _Misa-chan_. How should I feel right now?"

"U-Uh… W-Well, I-I think you should-" She paused. "… Hold on a second. Are you trying to guilt trip me or something?"

"No. I just want answers. Now answer me this: For what reasons should I not beat the shit out of you right now for taking advantage of my little brother, a _thirteen year old_ boy, the way you did?

_Well?_"

Misao was legitimately frightened of the girl standing before her. She felt that every second she stalled with her answer would bring the looming threat of the ass-whooping in her future closer and closer to reality. But what _could_ she say back? In truth, she felt that there was only one thing she could say, regardless of whether she felt it would bring upon her safety or a beating: the _truth_.

Misao stood herself up from her seat once again, forcing Ritsu to stand back up straight. Both remained face to face. "You want an answer, huh?" she shot back. "Well here's the _truth_… I love your brother, Ritsu. I _love_ Satoshi."

Silence, much like that of the car ride over, filled the room. From a distance Satoshi stifled back a gasp while Ren used all his strength not to blow up from a mix of anger and shock. Ritsu, however, gave the girl back a somewhat blank look, one that was hard to read. Was she shocked? Angered? Upset? It was all hard to accurately say.

Misao continued to prove her point without hesitation. She slipped past Ritsu and walked right over to Satoshi, grabbed him by a wrist, and jerked him out of his seat before forcefully interlocking her right arm into his left and pulling him tight against himself. Now Ren _really_ looked to be on the edge of exploding. "You're _really_ Sato-kun's sister, right?" Misao asked Ritsu.

"Eh- W-Well, _yeah_, but-"

"Then you wouldn't have a problem answering a few questions from me _about_ him, right?"

"I-I _guess_, but I don't see what this-"

"Do you think Satoshi is the kind of person to hit a woman?" Misao asked firstly.

"Wha-? N-No! Of course not!"

"Do you think Satoshi would ever cheat on someone?"

"Before a month ago, I didn't Satoshi could even have a _girlfriend_."

"That doesn't answer my question. I'll ask again: Do you think Satoshi is the kind of person to-?"

"_No_, Misao, I _don't_ think he's capable of cheating."

"And last question: If you had to name three distinct, good qualities about Satoshi, what would they be?"

"Well, he-" Suddenly it hit her. Misao had spun things around in such a way that now, Ritsu was answering her own question. With every answer she gave Misao back, Ritsu was, in essence, naming off every reason why Misao would find her brother interesting. Reasons why _she_ would love _him_.

The drummer grinned. "_Three_ qualities, right…? He's kind, first off. Wouldn't hurt anyone that didn't deserve it. He's _loyal_, secondly. Like I said, I don't see him leaving you in the dust anytime soon. And thirdly… Well, he's a _man_." Misao's lips curled upward into a distinct grin. Ritsu was finally seeing it from _her_ point of view. "After you called him yesterday, he came straight to me and asked for help. If being able to willingly admit that you're scared and to ask for help is not a sign of true manliness, I don't know what _is_."

Misao's smile widened slightly. "_Now_ you're getting it."

Ritsu lifted her gaze from Misao and drifted it to her brother. "Well, Sato? Got something to add? Actually, better yet, maybe you should say something to _Ren_ here because he still looks an inch from knocking your head off."

Satoshi looked back to Ren and, indeed, he looked just as close to meltdown as he did moments ago. "… Ren-san," Satoshi finally began. "I get why you're mad at me. You think I'm too young to know what I'm talking about. You probably think I'm just a kid and not deserving of your sister..." Ren seemed to nod in agreement with everything Satoshi was listing off. "But I want you to know that I _respect_ you sister. In fact, I treat her just as I would my _own_ sister."

…

"…W-Wait, that came out wrong. Uh, l-let me reword that… I treat Misao like a member of the family- Wait, no, that's just as bad!" Ren's fists clenched in preparation to punch, but a moment before his Ritsu jumped in and positioned herself between the couple and Ren.

"What he _means_ to say," she cut in, "is that Satoshi would never do anything to hurt your sister, that he'll stick by her side no matter what. Right, Sato?" The boy nodded his head rapidly in reply.

_Ren_, in reply, averted his gaze and scoffed. "… Whatever," he muttered before _then_ looking back to the boy. "But there's still one more glaring issue left, _boy_: What are you going to do about this child, huh?"

At this question the room turned silent once again. Satoshi's eyes fell to the floor. Misao still had her arm interlocked with his. "I… I'm not sure…" he replied.

"_Humph_… Well, it doesn't matter in the end. It's going to be up to Mom and Dad, Misao, to decide what's going to happen."

A voice sounded from outside the room. "Actually, maybe _not_."

Ren, Misao, Satoshi, and Ritsu all whipped around to the doorway they had entered through earlier, to where the voice came from. A short moment passed before a pair stepped out from behind the wall and into view: Yuji and Yuko. A second later Misato and Kyuske appeared from behind the wall.

"Uh… How long were you guys listening in?" Ren finally asked.

Yuko was the one to reply. "Somewhere after 'So you're the chick that's been fucking my brother.'" Her eyes fell directly onto her daughter's now embarrassed face.

Kyuske took over from there. "Some conversation you four were having there. Maybe keeping you all in another room while we talked _was_ a good idea after all."

"So what's going to happen?" Ren interjected. "What did you decide on?"

"Well," answered Kyuske, the man's gaze fell onto that of Satoshi, "Misato and I had a pretty good back-and-forth going between your parents. Who knew such a skinny guy could intimidate like that."

Yuji chuckled at that. "Yeah, well, one of fine arts you learn working at the stock exchange is _yelling_. I got that down pat, pretty much."

Misato continued. "We were about to head back here and render our judgment, but once we heard the back-and-forth you all were having, we sort of… decided to eavesdrop." She chuckled and grinned, revealing a fang identical to that of her daughter, poking out from behind her upper lip. It seemed Misao inherited a lot more than merely hair color from her mother.

Yuko then continued. "And after we heard most of it, we decided that… We'll let the two of them decide.

Finally, Ren could take the situation no longer and burst into outrage. "W-what? You're all joking, _right?_ You can't seriously put that kind of a choice in the hands of a _thirteen_ year old! Thi-This is _crazy_!" The other three (Satoshi, Misao, and Ritsu) merely shared shocked looks, choosing to remain silent.

"Please, Ren, calm down," his father advised. "They got themselves into this mess, so they're going to decide their _own_ path through this… Get that, you two?"

"Y-Yes!" Misao and Satoshi snapped back instantly.

"… _So_, Satoshi? What are you going to do?" he then asked the boy directly.

"Eh? W-What I'm going to _do_? W-Well…" The expression on his visage suddenly changed from nervous to a look of a bit more confidence. "First thing I'm going to do is, well, actually buy a pregnancy _test_, to see if Misao really _is_ pregnant."

Both Yuko and Yuji's faces turned a shade of enraged red and turned to the other parents in unison. "You mean you didn't do this _already_?" Yuko snapped at the both of them. "You don't even know if she _is_ pregnant, _do you_!"

At this, mister and misses Kusakabe could only hang their heads in shame. "… S-Sorry," Misato apologized. "I guess we both got so worked up over finding this whole thing out that we sort of… got a little blinded with anger."

Even _Ren_ was shaking his head, facepalm and everything. "Jesus, Mom and Dad," he sighed. "How the hell did you not think to do _that_! That would have been, like, the _first_ thing I would have done."

Kyuske's embarrassment deepened. "Ok Ren, we get it, we screwed up… Jeez, now I'm getting told off by my own son."

Satoshi's father then spoke to his son directly, making explicit eye-contact. "That was very mature of you to say, Satoshi," he complemented, giving a slight grin. Satoshi grinned back, but it went away when the grin of his father disappeared a blink of an eye later. "However, this doesn't mean I'm not going to shirk punishment for not only _this_, but for not telling us about Misao _earlier_… No matter the outcome of this test, you are forbidden to see or speak with Misao."

"W-Wha-!" the boy gasped back. Even Ritsu seemed to do a slight double-take. "For how long!" he asked back.

"Indefinitely. Until we say otherwise."

Satoshi felt like speaking up again, to make retort to this new rule… but he remained silent. He had already been placed upon thin ice, that much he already knew. And furthermore, if he was ever going to regain the respect of his parents, he needed to prove his responsibility and maturity, and that meant not talking back to them… However, this did not stop his _sister_ from speaking up.

"Oh come on," Ritsu said, "don't you think that's a _little_ extreme. I get why you'd do this, sure, but – I mean come on! If I'm worth my weight in salt as a sister, I know that Satoshi's probably scared shitless right now- Pardon the language. I mean, I'll be there to give him advice, support, or whatever the hell he needs, but he'll need all the support we can get." One could see the elation swell on the boy's face in appreciation.

"Well, you can always talk to _us_, Satoshi," Yuko offered.

"Well… Not exactly the kind of comfort I was referring to…" Ritsu added, a slight blush creeping across her face. It didn't take a degree to figure out what type of comfort she was talking about. The parents blushed a second or two after.

"W-Well, there's no way in hell I'm letting that happen," Yuji stammered back, "not after _this_ little incident."

"Wha-? B-But you said I was mature a few second ago!" the boy protested.

"You still _lied_ to us, Satoshi. You didn't tell us about Misao, and so, you lied to us. And because of that you're not allowed to-"

"Now wait a second here!" Misato suddenly spoke up, bringing the attention of the entire room onto her. _Her_ narrowed eyes were firmly locked onto both Yuji and Yuko. "We have a child involved in this _too_, you know. Maybe _she_ needs comfort in this as well, ever think of that?"

After Yuji retorted with a "Then she should go to her irresponsible parents!", what then proceeded was a furry of back-and-forths between the four of them. Each of their voices seemed to blend together into a loud calamity as their argument slowly escalated. At one point Ren stepped into the fray, seemingly taking the sides of Satoshi's parents. And as all this occurred, Ritsu, Satoshi, and Misao looked on in stun.

Ritsu glanced over to her brother and they shared concerned looks between themselves. His eyes moved slowly back onto the feuding. "My God," he whispered aloud. "I didn't think it would end up becoming like this. Right, Misa-chan?

… Misa-chan?"

He looked over to his right, to Misao, to see that her eyes had fallen to the floor beneath her feet. Furthermore, the bangs of her hair cast her eyes in shadow, further visualizing her current state of emotion: despair. Satoshi had never seen her in such a state before. Not _once_.

"M-Misa-chan? Are you ok-?"

"I can't listen to this any longer," she said. Before Satoshi could say anything back, Misao, with her head still hung low, marched right past both her and Satoshi's parents, retreating to another part of the house. The argument amongst the parents halted in an instant. Misato called out her daughter's name and when she received no reply back, left the living room to go after her.

The room remained dead quite _still_ after she left. A vibe of emotion prevented anyone from resuming speech. For some, it was shame for their lack of humility. For others, it was fear of reviving the argument all over again. Nevertheless, not a soul spoke until Misato returned to the living room. "She's locked herself in the bathroom. She's not answering me at all."

"Let _me_ see if I can get her talking," Ritsu offered, stepping out of the room and heading toward the bathroom. Meanwhile Satoshi, as the adults and Ren began to talk amongst themselves (and inadvertently forgetting about the boy), felt his legs begin to give out from beneath him, and he fell backwards into the closest seat: the loveseat, where he became a man not too long ago. Once seated, his thoughts instantly went back to that day, to that _moment_: the sights, feel, and smells of that day, how crippling fear and the inexperience of his first time caused him to finish before Misao, and then how he pushed himself _afterward_ to prove the girl wrong.

The boy began to remember why he loved Misao in the first place: Satoshi had become a stronger person _because_ of her. If it wasn't for Misao, Satoshi imagined he would have been the same person he was before, and it was someone he didn't want to be _again_: overly timid, socially awkward, and lacking in self-confidence, to name a few. And not only that, but because of Misao, he _felt loved_.

"_They do say love is a strange thing…" And oh how it changes us._

Lost in the memories of Misao, the boy forgot others were in the room for a brief moment of time. He sunk further back into the chair, a grin creeping up in the corners of his mouth. He worries seemed to wan (though present they still were.) "_I guess I really do have Misao to thank for a lot. She helped me feel better about myself… and now, she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. I'll help her as much as I possibly can, but I don't know how much I **can** do… Damnit, I wish this situation would just go away, but I know all too well that it-"_

The sound of fast-approaching footsteps sounded in the hallway and Misao came rushing into the room, coming to a near-stumbling halt. Ritsu came running in a second after, apparently having trouble catching up with the track athlete. Satoshi shot back onto his feet as he and everyone else whipped around to the girl. Misao had on her face a gigantic look of relief.

"Guys!" she exclaimed. "It's alright! Everything's going to be ok!"

"Wha-What? What's going on?" Misato asked back in a panic.

"I just got my period!" Misao announced. "I'm not pregnant!"

In unison, all four parents, Ren, and Satoshi collapsed to their knees, each and every one of them expelling a giant sigh of relief. In one glorious statement, all feelings of regret, shame, anxiety, and fear were cleansed from everyone's faces and hearts, replaced with elation the likes of which few could ever know. Misao rushed over to the now sitting Satoshi and knelt down next to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Isn't this great, Sato-kun?" asked Misao.

"… yeah…" It was all he really _could_ say back. He was incredibly elated at the revealing of this news, yes, but at the same time, he felt a hint of sadness, knowing that one less life would exist in this world… But perhaps it was for the best that this was so. After all, there was no telling _what_ kind of life he or Misao could offer their child, and most likely he/she would have been put up for adoption. There was simply no possible way of knowing how things would have turned out. Such are life's mysteries.

Ritsu looked on at the scene before her, the uplifting of everyone's spirits, and after waiting an appropriate amount of time, she finally spoke up about _her_ secret. "Well then," she began, "now that the mood here seems to have lifted _quite_ a lot, _I_ got something to say. Mom, Dad, Mio and I have been going out for the past few weeks… Oh, and I'm a lesbian."

Suddenly, the pregnancy scare didn't seem all that shocking anymore.

-o0o-

With the shedding of her last article of clothing, Misao now wore nothing more than the suit of her birth. She walked with intentional swagger in her hips as she approached her boyfriend's bed, where said boy (fully clothed) sat in anticipation. Just another day for them? Perhaps, but Satoshi still got slightly nervous when these moments came about.

Misao hopped onto the bed, crawled herself over, and then grabbed the boy by the shoulder and quite literally pounced onto him, pinning him to the mattress, where she began her work kissing and sucking at the other's neck. She figured out (through much trial and error) how to do this little deed well enough _not_ to leave any embarrassing marks on the skin.

As she continued her work, Satoshi discretely reached into his left pant pocket, retrieving his protection and was just about upzip his pants and put it on. But Misao cut him short. She grabbed both his wrists with one hand and gripped them tight. "Wha- Misa-chan? What are you-?" the boy exclaimed.

The girl lifted her face from the other' neck and brought it in front of Satoshi's, the tips of their noses touching. A certain devilish, fanged grin adorned her face. "And what do you think _you're _doing?" she teased.

"U-Uh, well, I thought that we-"

"Not today, Satoh-kun… Today, _you_ work for _me_."

Misao stood herself up on the mattress on her knees before walking herself forward, bring a _certain_ part of her body (which had been at Satoshi's eye level the entire time) ever closer until it the distance between it and his face was no more than a few inches. The boy could smell it's sweet aroma at this point. Then, Misao did a move she had never done before: she reached a hand down and pinned the boy's head to the mattress before moving herself forward _again_, putting that _certain_ part of her body hovering above his face. His eye could not have been any wider. "H-Holy _shit_…" he managed to whisper from shock.

Misao continued to grin devilishly. "Go ahead," she whispered back, letting go of the boy's head. "Make my day…"

He hesitated for a second or two… but then plunged his head forward, bringing his lips to hers and insert his tongue _deep_. Misao stifled a yelp at the initial touch, forcing herself to keep her moans under control. It was only Satoshi's second attempt at this sort of thing so he felt that much was riding on his performance.

He increased the tempo of his tongue, taking more care to give attention to her more sensitive parts. Already Misao was beginning to moan. "O-Oh God…" She attempted to keep herself quiet by biting down on her left index finger, but that did not seem to do much.

If Satoshi had to complain about one thing with Misao, it was this: she tended to be a bit… well, _loud_. In most cases and situations Satoshi _enjoyed_ this (quite the confidence booster for many.) However, in situations such as _this_, her tendency to yell was problematic, especially given that a pair of parents was just downstairs.

Satoshi regretfully tore his lips from Misao's to whisper to her "Damnit, keep quite! They'll hear us!"

Misao was still coming down of her "stimulation high" so it took a moment for her to reply. "… S-Sorry, Sato-kun," she breathily said back. "I just can't help myself sometimes."

"You can _never_ help yourself, Misa-chan…J-Just do your best, please…" He reached up and clutched the outside of Misao's thighs before bringing his mouth back to work. Misao did well to quiet herself for a few minutes thereafter, but it didn't take long before she turned just as loud as before.

Soon enough the girl felt a climax coming forth from the horizon. "O-Oh shit… S-Sato-kun, I'm close," she warned. "I-I'll try not to scream." She _knew_ she was going to, and in preparation, as her left hand lifted to clutch her left breast she bit down on her index finger again, biting down even harder than before. Satoshi in the meanwhile, with no relent, increased his tempo and furiously lashed his tongue around within Misao until finally she reached her peak.

Though try as she might to prevent it, Misao's climax caused her to outcry, but at the very last moment she clamped a hand over her entire mouth, muffling the scream enough to keep the others in the house from becoming aware. The orgasm struck her _so_ hard, in fact, that almost immediately after it happened she quite literally collapsed onto Satoshi, her head resting on the boy's left shoulder, her body becoming somewhat flaccid and limp.

Satoshi, after taking a moment to catch his _own_ breath, asked Misao "You ok?" His reply was a continuation of what she did before: her kissing and sucking on his neck. "I'll take that as a 'Yes' then…"

Misao giggled a "You know it… You were pretty good for your second time, Sato-kun… You haven't been getting private lessons somewhere, have you?"

"Wh- No, of course not. Like I'd ever cheat on _you_."

"_Awwww_, you're sweet."

"… Besides, who the hell would I get lessons from anyway? I go to an all-boy's school, remember? And no other girls like me…"

"Well, could be some _outside_ the school," Misao supplied.

"Such as?"

"… I dunno. Sister, maybe?"

"W-Wha-!"

The brunette burst into laughter. "Ah-hahahaha! Oh man, if you could see the look your face just had, Sato-kun! It was hilarious! Ha ha ha!"

"Misa-chan, that's disgusting!" the boy whined. "I don't nearly find it as funny as you do…! Maybe I should ask how _you're_ so good at what _you_ do. Maybe your brother helped out?"

"Hey, at least I can give an explanation as how he _might _have a thing or two to teach. He's had other girlfriends besides Ayano before, but _you-_"

"Yeah yeah," he dismissed. "Fresh as a newborn chick and as bare-assed as-… Damnit, I forgot the turn-of-phrase." Satoshi got from the bed and put his red jacket back on after taking a moment to straighten out his clothing.

"Going somewhere?" Misao joked.

"Just downstairs. Thought I'd get something to drink."

"Yeah, you look like you could use one," Misao quipped. Satoshi seemed to ignore the remark and head toward the door, but just as he reached for the knob, Misao had one more thing to ask. "Wait a second, Sato-kun… I-I need you to be honest with me right now…"

The boy turned back around. "Yeah?"

The short-haired girl sat her nude self up on the bed, sitting in "Indian style" (perhaps or perhaps _not_ aware at how of a view she was giving the boy.) "I need to know something… I-I know it's been a month, but… What would you have done if I really _was_ pregnant? I don't care what you say, I just want you to be honest."

His eyes lowered to the carpet beneath his feet. "… _Honestly_?... Well, considering if the child was not aborted…" The "A-word" seemed to stain the very air of the room, as if he had uttered the name "Voldemort." "… I think that I would have wanted to put him or her up for adoption… Sorry, Misa-chan, but _honestly_ I don't think I could have handled it. I know you keep saying I act mature for my age and all that, but I'm still a _kid_. I'm only thirteen, after all! I-I just-"

The boy was cut short when Misao lifted a palm to him. "Say no more," she commanded. "Sato-kun, you don't need to remind _me_ that you're still a kid. Trust me, I _know_." She grinned after _that_ remark, leaving Satoshi unsure whether he was supposed to feel insulted or not by it. "Believe me, I'm not rearing and ready for parenthood anytime soon as well… I just needed to hear what you would have wanted to do.

… Thanks, Sato-kun, for being straight with me."

_He_ smiled back. "No problem… Uh, do you want anything from downstairs?"

"Sure, I guess. Surprise me."

And with that, Satoshi turned back and left his room, making sure to quickly shut and lock the door behind him. Yes, you read correctly. The two had just done it in _Satoshi's_ room. In fact, this was their first romp outside of the confines of the Kusakabe residence.

The hatchet between the Tainakas and the Kusakabes seemed to be buried deep after the day of the parents' meet-up. Even so, even after it was discover that Misao was _not_ with child, punishment was still given: both were forbidden to see or talk to each other for an entire month's time. Both were instructed to come home right after school (unless a friend could vouch their location) so there wouldn't be any secret meet-ups. That being said though, the two still spoke to each other by means of cell phones.

But yesterday was the last day of their punishment, thus explaining her presence at the Tainaka household (and by the looks of things, the two were making up for the lost time.) Satoshi headed for the stairs, but before making it halfway there, the door to Ritsu's room shot open, causing the boy to jump. The sister in question, casually dressed, stood on the other side, giving an almost accusatory look. "Where do you think _you're_ going, _lover boy_?" she interrogated, though it was rather obvious she was just messing around with him.

"Eh- J-Just downstairs," he replied.

"_For_?"

"A drink."

"Yeah, you look like you could use one."

That was the second time in no more than five minutes that Satoshi heard that said, and now, he wanted to know "What do you mean by that?"

Instead of replying verbally _just _yet, Ritsu reached over with her right hand, poked her index finger on the boy's forehead, whipped it across, and then held the same finger out in front of him. The tip of the finger was wet with sweat. _Satoshi's_ sweat. "You look like a pig in heat, Sato."

The boy naturally blushed from embarrassment. "… Uh, pigs don't really sweat, Nee-chan," he corrected.

"Oh whatever… So, what _were_ you two doing just then? _Huh_?" She already had a pretty damn good idea what but she couldn't pass up the chance to embarrass Satoshi.

"N-Nothing, really…" Which, of course, was a lie that Ritsu saw right through.

"_Suuuure_… *Sigh* Ok, I'm done with you. You can leave I guess."

"What, no jokes at my expense, Nee-chan? Losing your edge?"

"*Sigh* It's no fun to make fun of you anymore, Satoshi. What did you have to grow up for, huh?" Then, when she took a step back and was about to shut the door to her room, Ritsu seemed to have a change of heart. "… _Actually_, Satoshi, I take that back. Maybe making fun of you just got a little easier."

"Eh? What do you mean?" he asked back.

"_Well_… You might want to wait a few minutes before heading downstairs, Satoshi. I don't think Mom and Dad would appreciate seeing you 'at attention.'"

Ritsu shut the door and it took Satoshi a fill fifteen seconds before he looked down and finally got what Ritsu meant.

* * *

><p><strong>[Author's Notes] <strong>Long, long chapter... Eeyup.

Ok, I'm gonna explain the Ren/Ayano thing. If you're unaware, in Lucky Star, the character Ayano Minegishi has a boyfriend who is Misao's older brother (who actually has no given name, but I've called "Ren" for two different stories.) Now you might have asked "Why would Ren be worried about his friends knowing about Ayano?" Well, I sort of looked at how Scott Pilgrim's friends viewed him dating Knives Chow: they gave him nothing but grief for it. I took that kind of approach.

Now for me to explain time continuity. The beginning of this chapter takes place somewhere around the same time Chapter 3 ends, but _ends_ a month later. Chapter 5 will take place around the same time as the conclusion of _this_ chapter, but Chapter 6 will take place a month previous. So, to slimplify, most of the events of Chapter 4, and the events of Chapter 5 and 6 will take place in the same timespan of about a month. This probably isn't necessary to know, but I felt I needed to clarify this to avoid any sort of confusion.

We return to Kotoyuki for the next installment and, dare I say it, another pairing...? Stay tuned, bitches.**  
><strong>


	5. Blind Date

Chapter 5

A certain bespectacled pinkette sat in wait. She sat atop one of the few wooden benches on the upper platform of what was Ryoo's commuter line station. She had spent the moments after school dismissed for the day sitting at this spot (letting Kagami and Tsukasa go on ahead of her), her eyes scanning the words of a book that sat in her lap. She was now halfway through "A Mortal Antipathy." The only time she stopped reading was when she felt and heard the arrival of another train. She'd look up to see the people coming off, but when she did not see the person she was waiting for, returned to the text.

But at one point she became so involved with the story that when the next train arrived that brought Tsumugi Kotobuki with it, she did not notice the blonde step off. Mugi, however, noticed _her_, and with a rising desire to act a bit devious taking over, she stealthily walked over and slid next to Miyuki on the bench.

With Miyuki still blissfully unaware, Mugi leaned her lips closer to the skin of Miyuki's neck before, after pausing, reached forward and took a light bite. Miyuki, in gut reaction, not only belted out a near ear-shattering shriek, but also snapped her book shut and slammed the spine right into Mugi's forehead. She then jumped to her feet and spun around to see who her attacker was- Only to see that it was Mugi.

"W-Wha-… Kotobuki-san?" she gasped. "My God, you scared me!"

Mugi rubbed the newly acquired red stripe in her forehead as she replied (all the while laughing) "I think _you_ scared me _more_, Yuki-chan. I wasn't expecting you to hit me. And man, that _hurt_."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to- Well, I kind of _did_ mean to, but I thought you were some stranger and I didn't know-!"

"Ha ha ha! Sorry, Yuki-chan. I just thought it would be fun to do… Plus I got hit, so that's a plus!"

"… A _plus_?" Miyuki questioned.

"Sure!" Tsumugi exclaimed as she sprung up from the bench and closed the gap between her and Miyuki. "Mio-chan always hits Ricchan because they're such good friends, so I wanted to get hit too. It took me an entire day to get Ricchan to do it, in fact." Miyuki raised an eyebrow at this but remained quiet.

"But now _you_ hit me, Yuki-chan!" she cheered, encircling her arms around the pinkette. "I'm so happy!"

"Eh! K-Kotobuki-san, people can see us!" Indeed people _were_ looking, giving the couple glances as they passed on by as the crowd migrated toward the stairs that led to the street. "Please, let go!"

"But I don't wanna~!" she whined in response, sounding more like a child as she did. Just then, the cell phone in Miyuki's skirt pocket rang.

"Well you are going to _have_ to now." Miyuki tried not to smirk _too_ much. Mugi relented with a "Dang it~!" and released her hug, allowing Miyuki to retrieve the phone.

"Hello?" she answered. "Oh hello, Kagami-san. How are-?" She stopped abruptly. "Why, what's wrong?... She _is_?... I see… Ok, don't worry. Just sit tight and I'll be home as soon as I can, ok? I'll be right there. Bye." She quickly terminated the call and pocketed the device before grabbing her bag from off the bench.

"W-What's going on, Yuki-chan?" Mugi asked.

"It's mother," she answered.

"Your mom? Why, what happened?"

"Well… Remember what I told you before? How mother sometimes gets when she starts dwelling on father?"

"Y-Yeah…?" her voice cracked.

"Well… I think you might have caught us on one of those instances… You can go home now if you want to, Kotobuki-san. I won't mind-"

"No!" Tsumugi protested. "I'll stay with you."

Miyuki gave her girlfriend a thankful smile back before the two set off. They maintained a constant jogging pace as they descended the stairs to street level and navigated the sidewalks leading to Miyuki's house. Even at their pace it took them five solid minutes to reach the residence. They were panting heavily and sweating just slightly as they rushed through the front gate, through the front door, and kicked their shoes off in the foyer.

Once inside, rushing footfalls preceded the arrival to an anxiety-stricken Tsukasa. Her face was a noticeable shade paler. "Oh thank goodness!" she exclaimed as the two entered. "Yuki-chan, you mom, she- I-I don't know! Onee-chan and I came home and she was in the living room crying and we tried to talk to her but she didn't stop and I wanted to call you earlier but-"

"T-Tsukasa-san!" Miyuki quietly (but forcefully) interrupted what looked like an endless, panicked explanation from the short-haired Hiiragi. "It's ok. It's all going to be fine. Where is Kagami-san _now_?"

"Oh, s-she's in the living room, where your mom is."

The three left the foyer and entered the adjacent living room where, just as Tsukasa said, Yukara and Kagami were. The former sat atop one of the couches that surrounded the glass coffee table that sat near the room's center, her slouched head looking down at her lap. A tissue box sat in her lap, a few individual tissues crumpled in her right hand. On the surface of the table was an open photo album.

Kagami, who had been sitting to Yukari's left, noticed the three walk in and rushed over. "Thank God!" she whispered to Miyuki. "I-I don't know what happened. We both came home and saw her right where she is now, crying and looking through photo albums. W-We tried to cheer her up but she-"

"It's ok, Kagami-san," the pinkette once more intervened. "You did all you could… You both must be exhausted. Please, I can handle this from here. Thank you."

"Are you sure, Miyuki? Is there anything we can do?"

"No, that's quite alright. I wouldn't want you to worry anymore."

"O-Ok…" As Kagami and her sister retreated from the living room and upstairs (presumable to their room), Miyuki walked over to her mother and sat next to her where Kagami had just been. Immediately she encircled her arms around the other's shoulders and rested her pink head of hair against the other's.

Though Yukari seemed to lighten in mood just slightly she still looked no closer to ceasing her weeps anytime soon. Miyuki continued to cradle her mother in a loving embrace, speaking whispered words of comfort to her. Mugi, in the meanwhile, was left in the rather awkward position of standing by and watching, not knowing how she could possibly help.

After a few minutes Miyuki must have realized Mugi's current feelings of inadequacy and gave her a task. "Kotobuki-san," she said, peaking at her over her left shoulder, "could you please make some tea?" Mugi quickly remembered the process Miyuki followed to help her mother come out of her depression, the first step of which was making tea. "It's the one in the red box. Do you know which one I mean?"

"Oh course!" the blonde answered. This _is_ Mugi we're talking about, after all. Without being asked a second time (and after Miyuki mouthed the words "two lumps" to her), Mugi rushed over to the kitchen, passing through the dining room along the way. She knew _exactly_ where to go to retrieve the correct tea and the kettle to start brewing the drink. From two rooms away she could hear Yukari still weeping and her daughter still trying to comfort her, her words too far away to understand clearly.

"_I had no idea it was this serious_," Mugi thought to herself as the water began to heat up on the stove. "_I mean, it sounded terribly sad when she told before but… Oh dear, I wish I could do something more to help out!_"

Five or so minutes passed before Mugi returned to the living room, a cup of steaming hot tea held gingerly in her hands. She handed the cup to Miyuki which _she_ then passed to Yukari. "Please, Mother, have something to drink. You need to replenish your bodily fluids." It took her a few seconds of coming off of her tears before she finally accepted the cup and took a sip.

"… I-I'm sorry," Yukari apologized. "I'm making you worry again, Miyuki. And I'm making _you_ worry, Kotobuki-san."

"O-Oh, no, it's ok," Mugi assured her, "don't mind me."

Tsumugi _continued_ to stand at a distance and watch as Miyuki clutched her mother's shoulders. The longer she stood the more and more she felt out of place, and the more she felt like slipping out and going home. In fact, she was an inch from doing just that when Miyuki suddenly spoke to Yukari again. "I'm going to make dinner, ok?" Mugi remembered this as the _second_ step Miyuki mentioned.

Yukari nodded. As Miyuki got up, she gave Mugi a quick glance, a look that seemed quite loaded. "Stay here and help her out," it said. And Mugi was about to say back "Wait, I don't think I know what to do!", but Miyuki had already left, leaving the blonde and the mother alone in the room.

It took her another minute but Mugi eventually sat down next to Yukari where Miyuki had just been. But she was still without words. A couple of times she lifted up a hand, intent on resting it on a shoulder but she backed out at the last moment. She was feeling even _more_ inadequate now. But as events would unfold, Yukari would be the one to initiate conversation.

She reached forward and picked up off the table the open photo album, placing it directly in Mugi's lap. "Eh?" she sounded at the act. Yukari flipped the book back two pages, opening it up to a full page photograph showing three people: one was Yukari, to her right was a ten year old Miyuki, and the third was a man that stood a full head over Yukari in height, a man with medium length black hair and dressed in a business suit, giving him am very professional look.

Mugi already had an idea who this man was but she felt compelled to ask.

"Is this… Your husband?" she asked with care.

Yukari nodded back, whipping another tear from an eye. "Shuji," she began. "This picture was actually taken only a month before…"

"O-Oh…" She regarded the picture one more time, Shuji specifically. "He looks very professional."

"He was a lawyer. He had his office here at home. Anytime he wasn't _out_ on work he was _here_, but he always seemed to be working… But whenever he _did _get a chance, he would take Miyuki and I out and do something as a family, whether either of us felt up to it or not." She managed a single chuckle at that. "We'd go out to dinner or visit an amusement park or, on _rare_ occasions, take weekend vacations."

"… Um, forgive me if I'm being rude, but don't you work as well?"

"Oh no," she replied, rather genuinely, as if she had no shame in admitting it. "To be quite honest, I've never been able to hold down a steady job for more than a few months. I've been called 'forgetful' by a few employers before." Mugi knew that Miyuki's mother was somewhat of a klutz but _this_ seemed _insane_. Was she so scatter-brained that she couldn't hold down a real job? "I guess I was fortunate to fall in love with a lawyer when I did." Normally someone saying this would _scream_ "gold-digger" at this, but with Yukari, it honestly seemed like it was just pure coincidence his occupation was what it was. Opposites attract, perhaps?

The sounds of clattering cooking implements came from two rooms over, prompting the two in the living room to lift their gaze slightly. Then Yukari, for the first time since Miyuki and Mugi had came home that day, began to grin. "I'm so glad Miyuki took after Shuji more and not me. She's so responsible and hard-working and, well, I'm _not…_"

"E-Eh?" That statement shocked Mugi to no end. "Y-Yukari-san, don't sell yourself so short! You-"

"She's been much happier after you confessed to her, you know." Mugi turned silent. "She was always a peppy flower before, but after you and her got together, she's got a whole new glow to her." The blonde blushed from embarrassment. "I'm glad Miyuki found someone she's happy being with…"

"T-Thank you…"

The mother suddenly stood up from the couch. "Could you tell Miyuki that I'm going to bed early?" It was only 16:30 and she was retiring to _bed_?

"Uh, s-sure," Mugi replied, Yukari then leaving to head upstairs.

No more than a few moments later, Miyuki emerged from the dining room (now wearing a white apron over her school uniform) to see that her mom was not there. "Where did Mother go?" she asked Tsumugi.

"She said she went to bed… Is she going to be ok, Yuki-chan?"

"I see… I think she will be, yes. This happens quite often. She's usually fine by the next morni- Ah!" The pinkette yelped when Mugi suddenly closed the gap and gave her a tackling hug, her chin buried into the other's cleavage as she looked up to Miyuki's eyes.

"Yuki-chan!" she cried. "I had no idea she was like this! She's usually so happy, b-but to see her like _this_-!"

"… I take it you two talked then?"

"Mhm," she sounded back with a nod. "I had no idea she was so _sad_. I-… Something should be done!"

"W-What do you mean?"

Mugi let go of Miyuki and took a step back. "We should do something, Yuki-chan! _Really!_ I think we should… Find your mom a husband."

This time Miyuki _really_ screamed. It was a yell so loud it was a wonder the police didn't arrive on the premises afterward with calls of an in-progress murder. Actually, it was a surprise that neither Yukari nor the Hiiragi sisters heard it. "R-R-Remarry! D-Do you really think she _should_?"

"Of course! You know how depressed she is! Don't tell me you never brought that up to her before, have you?" Mugi was met back with Miyuki's absolute silence. "… You _never_ thought about her remarrying _ever_?"

"N-No, I _have_ thought about that! _Many _times, in fact, but I just never asked her about it."

"Well why the hell _not!_"

"I-I don't know. Maybe I thought that would make her _more_ upset."

"But Yuki-chan, she's not getting any better doing _nothing!_ Use that smart head of yours and put two and two together!"

It was clear that Miyuki put _intense_ thought to what Mugi had just suggested (if the "thinking faces" she gave were _any_ indication.) Twelve full seconds brought with it a reply. "… I-I guess… You're right, Kotobuki-san… Maybe it's finally time she remarried… Oh, but who would she ever find interesting?"

"Oh come on! You're the smart one here, Yuki-chan, _think_! There has to be _someone_ you know that could make a possible husband."

Again, "Miwiki" put her brain into overdrive for a possible solution and another ten seconds passed before she thought aloud "Maybe _him_…?"

"What? Who?" the blonde demanded.

"Oh, it was just a thought, but I don't think it could _really-"_

"No 'buts'! Go on, spit it out! Who do you think would be good?"

"… W-Well. maybe… I-Izumi-san…?" she replied.

"… You mean Konata?"

"Wha-? N-No, _no!_ Kotobuki-san, I mean her _father_: Sōjirō-san."

"Oh… _Oh_…" Slowly and gradually, the blonde's face lit up with such intensity that it caused Miyuki to jump from shock. "That's- That's an _incredible_ idea!" she cheered. "If your mom and Konata's dad got married, you and Konata- You'd be step-sisters! Wouldn't that be awesome?"

"E-Uh… Well, _yes_, that _would_ be interesting- B-But that's not the real reason I thought of him. You see, Konata-san sometimes tells me and the others how _her_ parent gets a bit- Well, the word _she_ used was 'clingy'- whenever he starts thinking about _his_ late spouse."

"I didn't know Konata's mother was- dead… I always assumed she lived somewhere else or something."

"Oh no. Actually, she died sometime after giving birth to Konata-san, she tells me."

"_Really?_ How rare…"

"Izumi-san tells me her mother was the size _she_ is when she gave birth. Giving birth when women are that petite, for most, is a risky thing…"

"True, true… But we should totally try and do this, Yuki-chan!"

"But Kotobuki-san," Miyuki interjected, "I'm not really sure mother and Sōjirō-san are, well, _compatible_."

"Maybe it doesn't matter!" Mugi answered back.

"Eh? You mean like an 'opposites attract' thing?"

"Actually, no. I actually meant that, well, _your_ mom needs companionship and, for what you're telling me, Konata's _dad_ feels lonely… Maybe, I don't know, love will find a way?"

"… I think you maybe have been watching too many romance dramas, Kotobuki-san."

"Yeah, I seem to hear that a lot." Mugi admitted with a grin.

"… But still, I think it may still be worth a shot." Mugi lit up again. "I'll talk to Izumi-san tomorrow at school and see if _she's_ up for it, though I have a pretty good idea what her answer will be." She chuckled at that part, only to get cut off when Mugi tackled her again with another hug.

"Yay yay _yay_!" she giddily cheered. "This is going to be great, Yuki-chan! It's going to be like setting up Nanako and Sawa-chan again!"

Just then, in the town of Sakura, a married couple sneezed in unison.

-o0o-

Miyuki waited for the right moment to ask Konata her and Mugi's plan. She thought about it last night and decided upon the _end_ of the day, as everyone was heading back home after the final bells. The hour eventually came and the Hiiragi sisters, Konata, and Miyuki found themselves exit school grounds through the main gate.

The pinkette waited until they were not too far off from the station before finally speaking up. She reached forward and poked the blue-haired girl on the right shoulder, asking her "Uh, Izumi-san, do you have a moment?"

Konata turned around. "Uh, I guess," she replied. It had been somewhere nearing five weeks into Konata's apparent stint of depression and she looked no better off. Her expression still exuded a sense of defeatism and a general lack of interest. Miyuki did well to hide her worry.

The sisters stopped to turn around themselves. "What's up?" Kagami asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Miyuki assured, giving back her usual grin. "I won't be too long. I'll tell you later, ok?" After the two nodded and went on ahead, Miyuki turned her attention back to Konata. "Um, Izumi-san, I hope if you don't mind if I ask a _personal_ question."

Konata raised a curious eyebrow. "… Uh, no, I _guess_ not. Why, what's it about…?"

"Well… You father, Sōjirō-san, he's still… _single_, right?" She knew all too well he _was_. But she couldn't help herself by stalling. It was a tendency of her to do so whenever she was nervous.

"Uh… _yeah_, he is… Why do you ask?"

"Umm… You see, to be truthful, my mother has been feeling quite depressed lately."

"Really? _Your_ mom? But she always seems so happy whenever I've seen her. What's wrong?"

"Yes, well, it's because she has been, as of late, remembering father a lot." Realization showed on Konata's face. Unbeknownst to Miyuki, Konata's dad had been _extra_ clingy as of late, especially since Konata had entered her depressed state. "So, I was wonder, if, and it's ok if he's not, if he's interested in… seeing other people?"

Konata's initial reaction was a blank look, one of slight dumbfound. Then, as the seconds passed, the same look underwent changes to mild shock, to shock, and finally to radiant happiness that caught Miyuki off guard. She had gotten use to seeing Konata in her perpetual gloom so to see her excited about _anything_ felt almost new.

"Oh my gosh!" the blue-haired girl exclaimed. "Y-Yuki-chan, are you saying… y-you wanna set my dad up with your _mom_?"

"Ah- I mean, if I'm being too straight-forward-"

"No, that's an awesome idea!" She was practically floating with giddiness. "Having a mom as smoking hot as yours would be amazing, and- If they get married, we'd be step-sister!"

"Eh-hehe, you caught on to that quickly, Izumi-san. Just like _Kotobuki-san_ did."

"Hmm, Mugi? She knows about this plan of yours?"

"It was _her_ idea originally. S-So you're ok with the idea, Izumi-san?"

"_Absolutely!_ In fact, when can we start!"

Miyuki smiled as the other's enthusiasm. "Well, I haven't thought of how to begin this, so I thought I'd ask _you_, Izumi-san, for suggestions."

Konata brought her right hand up to her chin and pretended to scratch her invisible beard, showing that she was, in fact, in thought. "Hmmm… I know! Maybe a blind date?"

"A blind date? Hmm… _Maybe_, but where exactly should it be?"

"_Well_, we already know a place that worked at setting people up _already_, Yuki-chan." It took Miyuki a few seconds to remember, but when she did, the two exclaimed the name in unison.

"The Aragawa!"

-o0o-

Never before in his entire life had Sōjirō felt as awkward and nervous as he did at this very moment.

After a limo (of all things) arrived at his house to take him away from his home in Ryoo to Tokyo, he was let off at this one spot in particular. He looked forward, down the narrow, brick-walled corridor that led to a single, inconspicuous door. He knew full well and _agreed_ to this: a blind date, one thought up by Konata and one other person. When he was first asked by Konata, he was not sure if to feel insulted or grateful, but after near constant begging on her part, Sōjirō accepted.

Now all he was wondering if the driver had taking him to the right place. Nevertheless he forced himself to walk forward, into the narrow corridor, and enter through the door. Immediately he felt out of place: the interior, from the décor to the chandelier to the well-dressed man standing behind the desk _screamed_ high class and _expensive_. He even felt severely underdressed for such a place: he had worn his usual traditional Japanese clothing, figuring this place would have been nothing special. Had he known ahead of time, he would have worn something a _bit_ more presentable.

Predictably, the moment Sōjirō stepped inside the room, the man behind the desk gave the other a slight roll of the eyes. Then as he approached the man asked "Can I _help_ you, Sir?"

"… O-Oh, yes, sorry. I have a reservation," Sōjirō quickly stammered out.

"Under _what name_?" The tone of his voice was of intense disinterest, as if he wanted to be anywhere else _but_ here (or dealing with Sōjirō.)

Remembering the piece of paper Konata handed him before leaving the house, he retrieved it from a pocket of his clothes. Written on it was a surname, which he read aloud. "Kotobuki."

Suddenly the man's eyes widened and he acted disinterested no longer. "Oh, of course! Table for two, correct?" Sōjirō shrugged back. The man grabbed two menus and led Sōjirō into the main dining room. He was again taken aback by the stunning décor and luxury of the place. Then, as he looked at the other patrons of the restaurant, at how finely dressed they all were, he felt even _more_ out of place than before.

He was seated at a table near the restaurant's center and, once situated, the man promptly left, having his place taken by a true waiter, who wasted no time in pouring a few glasses of ice water. "When the second of your party of two arrives we will begin," he stated as he poured the water.

And with that the waiter left as well, leaving Sōjirō rather confused. He was under the impression that a drink menu would have been offered at this point. But nevertheless, he kept to himself and sipped water at his leisure, all the while await this mystery woman's appearance. Unbeknownst to him, not a few tables off, two schoolgirls spied on the man from a distance. Miyuki Takara and Konata Izumi (both wearing formal wear picked out _that day_ by Mugi herself) sat at a table of their own. They had just been served their drinks (both non-alcoholic) and at the moment kept ever-watchful eyes on Konata's father.

"Oh man!" a giddy Konata exclaimed. "This is gonna be awesome, Yuki-chan! When does your mom arrive?"

"She should be here soon," Miyuki answered. "Mother said she might take extra time getting ready."

"Hmm, good, good. Better safe than sorry… Hey, Yuki-chan, I got an idea. Why don't we order a bottle of champagne?"

"Wha- Champagne? _Why_?"

"Why _not_? We're both old enough. Plus, Mugi's paying for everything. She would want us to indulge a bit."

"But Izumi-san, we already have drinks," Miyuki explained, pointing to the two tall glasses of ginger ale on the table.

Konata met this fact head on: she grabbed both glasses and gulped down their entire contents in seconds, one after the other, ice and all. "_What_ drinks?" she then asked, placing the glasses back down. "_I_ don't see any drinks. Do you?"

"_*Sigh*_ Izumi-san… Fine, if you want to-"

"Yay!" She quickly hailed a passing waiter and (rather forcefully) ordered a bottle, and as he left to fetch it, a pink head of hair entered through the front entrance. "Hey! You mom just arrived! Now the _fun_ begins…"

Yukari was escorted by the same person as before through the dining room toward Sōjirō's table. Like her daughter and Konata, she was dressed formally, but unlike them, her choice of attire was modest in both nature and color pallet. The man in the suit walked over to the chair opposite Sōjirō then waited for her to sit. But she didn't.

Instead she, at the realization of who else sat at the table, froze in place, standing a still as a stone statue. Sōjirō at first had not noticed Yukari's arrival. He was too busy looking at the surface of the table and his glass of ice water. But eventually he _did _look up, and just like her, _he_ froze. "… T-Takara-san?" he nearly screamed.

"Izumi-san!" she squeezed back. "Oh my, this is, uh, _unexpected_."

"Y-Yeah…" _My God. **This** is who Konata set me up with? A friend's mother? And Miyuki-san's mother at that! Damn, Konata pick a winner, but now I'm freaking out!... Ok, Sōjirō, you can do this. Just don't. Fuck. Up. _"Well… it looks like our daughters have been busy scheming behind our backs," he joked.

"I guess so…" Yukari said back. The woman managed to put a tiny grin on her lips. Eventually she did _finally_ take her seat opposite of Sōjirō, prompting the man to leave. "I-I'm sorry if I'm a bit nervous, but, well, I'm surprised Miyuki thought to put something like this together."

"Hmm. Well, I think this is more _my_ daughter's doing than yours. This seems her style."

"Hehe, I suppose… Miyuki tells me about Konata sometimes, like how she tried to help Kuroi-san and Yamanaka-san to engage…" He eyes suddenly opened up a bit. "Oh my…"

"Huh? What is it, Takara-san?"

"… D-Do you think that's what they are trying to do _now_? Izumi-san?"

"I-I, uh… _maybe_?" This was a lie on his part. He knew damn well this was _exactly_ Konata's intention. He cursed at himself within his own head for not expecting this to happen _sooner_: All his more "clingy" moments were dead giveaways of his own loneliness. _Does Konata really think that I should remarry-? Wait a second. I've only met Yukari-san once or twice before, and she seemed quite a happy person during both instances. She couldn't be in the same boat as I am, could she?_

"L-Look, Yukari-san, if you want to leave, I'll understand-"

"N-No, it's ok, _really_," Yukari insisted. _So she's not **totally** objecting to this… is this a good sign?_ A few moments of time brought the arrival of their waiter for the evening. Without asking what the two wanted to drink, he set a wine glass in front of each of them, popped open a bottle of red wine and poured, all the while explaining what it was. "This is a 1992 Chateau Margaux," he detailed, then going to finer detail about the taste, texture, and a number of other things that flew over Sōjirō's head. "I will return in a bit with the appetizer menu." And like that he was gone. _Again_.

Being not much of a wine drinker himself, he _knew_ he had committed a high-society faux pas when, after _he_ took a sip from his glass, he watched Yukari take a sip from _hers_. It was blatantly obvious that she was more knowledgeable in this apparent _art_ of drinking wine: the way she spun the glass and brought the lip of it to her nose to sniff _before_ eventually taking a sip made this clearly obvious.

"Something tells me you've been to places like this before," Sōjirō commented.

"Hmm? Oh, not _here_ specifically," Yukari modestly replied back. "This is actually the first time I've been to this restaurant before."

"Same here, if that wasn't obvious," he chuckled.

Yukari didn't quite catch the humor. "Oh?" she sounded.

"… Well, I mean, _look at me_. I feel pretty underdressed here as it is."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I feel rather _over_dressed than how I usually am. Miyuki's girlfriend, Kotobuki-san, actually helped me pick this outfit out."

"Oh, I see…" Ten seconds later. "… Wait, did you say 'girlfriend'?"

The pinkette gasped immediately, her face turning an embarrassed shade of red. "Oh dear oh dear, I wasn't suppose to say that! I-I'm sorry that you had to-"

"No no, it's ok, Takara-san, don't feel embarrassed… Heck, I guess we have more in common than we already thought."

She tilted her head at this remark. "What do you mean, Izumi-san?"

"Well, I just found out not too recently that Konata… Well, it seems that she and Miyuki are _both_, well…" He didn't finish the sentence, or rather, he couldn't, as at that moment their waiter returned with two menus, giving both Yukari and Sōjirō one.

"Here is your appetizer menu, Sir and Madame. You may pick any two of the choices. I'll return shortly to take your orders." And one _again_, the waiter was gone in a flash, giving none of the two a chance to ask any questions, of which Sōjirō _did_ have.

He took a look at the menu only to quickly discover that, for his two choices, there were only five dishes to pick. He looked up to Yukari and, sure enough, she shared a similar (if slightly muted) look of confusion as she looked at _her_ menu.

"Let me guess," said Sōjirō. "The other places you went to had more selection than _this_."

"Well… actually, _yes_," she replied. "I'm actually still curious as to why they did not offer us a wine menu. Granted the wine they served was good, but we had no _choice_."

"Hmm. I'll talk to the waiter when he comes back." That moment came a full five minutes later when the young man walked back to the table, pen and order slip in-hand, and asked the two "Have you both made your choices?"

"Just a second," Sōjirō answered, "I got something to say first. I've had friends dine here before and they said they had full control of their food. So far, not only did we get this tiny menu, but you choice our wine _for_ us." Even thought he voiced his complaints is as polite a manner as he could, it didn't stop him from getting looks from the patrons sitting at the adjacent tables.

The waiter was just as courteous back. "I apologize for any inconvenience you have, Sir and Madame, but if I may inquire, how long ago did your friends dine here?"

Being as the "friends" he spoke of was actually his daughter, he replied "Well, it had to have been about a year ago. Does it matter?"

"I'm afraid it does, Sir. Since then, the Aragawa has undergone renovations in terms of their menu, focusing more intense consideration into a smaller number of dishes in the interest of increasing quality. As for the wine, Sir, only _one_ wine is offered per night, one that has been specially chosen to complement the day's menu. Again, I apologize for any inconvenience."

The guy made a convincing argument, that was for sure. So much so, in fact, that Sōjirō was left feeling almost _guilty_ at making a complaint, even when his reasons were perfectly reasonable. "I see…" He managed to say that much back, but anything else was held back by his own embarrassment.

"Well, at any rate, have either of you made your appetizer choices?"

"Uh…" He hadn't. "… I'll have whatever she's having." _Damnit, what the hell did I go and say that for? Now I look like an even bigger idiot! Add **that** to my list of tonight's blunders, the list that began with me making that complaint. She probably thinks I'm too aggressive or angry._ He looked across the table to see her reaction. To his relief, she simply smiled back and said "Ok," before giving the menu one last look-over and taking her order. "We'll have the… salmon and… the sea scallops, please."

"Excellent choices, Madame," the man complemented. He took back the menu and reassured two the first appetizer would be out shortly before one again leaving. Unfortunately for Sōjirō, it didn't take long for Yukari to remember the conversation they were just having and, furthermore, bring it back up. "Now, what was that you were about to say, Izumi-san?" she asked.

_Damnit_. "Well, I was about to say that, well, I found out recently that Konata is, like Miyuki, a… Jeez, how do I say this politely…? She's a, uh-"

Sensing the other's apprehension, Yukari finished the statement for him (and rather bluntly at that). "A lesbian?" she asked.

"_Eh_-! Well… Actually, _yes_."

"O-Oh, _really_? We're you surprised as much as I was?" _What kind of a question is that?_

"Well _of course_ I was _surprised_, but at the same time, I wasn't completely _shocked_. I guess I…"

"Had a feeling?"

"I guess… Why, did you?"

"None at all, actually. Miyuki actually told me how she _wasn't_ a lesbian before, but when Kotobuki-san confessed to her, she felt so happy that _someone_ confessed to her that, well… It didn't matter if was a girl _or_ boy."

"… I have never heard of such a thing before… Is that really how it happened?"

"Mhm," she nodded.

"I see… Well I'm glad she's at least happy. I can't say the same thing for Konata."

"Oh, forgive me, but Miyuki has mentioned that Konata has seemed a bit depressed. Is something going on?"

Sōjirō looked down into the deep red liquid of the wine glass in front of him. "It's very, _very_ complicated. She told me about it about a week ago and I _still_ have trouble believing it…"

"Oh dear, that _does_ sound troubling. I'm sorry for bring it up."

"No no, it's ok. I'll spare you the details, but I think, ultimately, this is something she will have to figure out on her own…"

"I see… Well, I'm glad to see Miyuki so happy. I've been worrying her lately with my _own_ problems."

"Why? What's happening?"

"O-Oh, no, I'd rather not," Yukari modestly replied back, quickly taking an extended sip from her own glass of wine. But her modesty gave way to honesty rather quickly. _Too_ quickly, in fact. It was more like she really _wanted _to talk about it, and this became apparent rather quickly. Her gaze dropped to _her_ wine glass as she quietly explained "… Actually, I've been dwelling on my late husband lately…"

Now Sōjirō wished he had _never_ inquired. _Oh shit. This is not good. This is really not good: she's bringing up past husbands. This is **never** a good sign- No, no, Sōjirō, you're really no better than her in this respect. You've been clinging to Konata more than ever!_

_ Wait… Is **this** why this blind date was set up? Because Takara-san and I are suffering on similar circumstances?... Wow, Konata, you actually thought this through, didn't you?_

"… Don't feel bad about it,' Sōjirō reassured Yukari. "Actually, I've been kind of the same lately."

Her gaze lifted, not showing a fair deal of surprise. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes." He took another sip before explaining further. "My wife passed away not too long after Konata was born. I've been pretty much on my own with raising her." He couldn't explain why he felt so at ease saying these things to someone who was, essentially, a stranger. Konata admitting she was a lesbian was something that he had yet to tell his _niece_ about. _Why am I so ready to tell **her** over family?_ "I don't know, I guess… I guess I've given Konata enough for her to worry _herself_. I mean, I _know_ I'm doing it, but I haven't done anything _about_ it. I can't really explain it-"

Sōjirō looked back up to the person sitting opposite, noticing the look in her eyes. It was… _concern_. Concern _for_ _him_. _Shit, I'm bringing down the mood. Got to change pace quickly. Hell, I've already began to spill my guts out for this woman. Ok, brush it off, Sōjirō. Make a joke of it._

He began to chuckle. "Jeez, look at us."

"Hmm?" she sounded back.

"We've been here, what? Twenty minutes at the most? And we're already talking about personal stuff."

Yukari chuckled and smiled back. "Well… You're easy to talk you, Izumi-san. I-I'm surprised myself at what I was able to tell you, concerning our daughters, I mean."

"Well, I think it makes sense. Our daughters are close friends, so it should make sense that we be close too-" _I just said something incredibly inappropriate, didn't I? Damnit, damnit, I just don't know when to shut the hell up! I hope I didn't ruin my chances by-_

Just then, to both Sōjirō's shock and elation, Yukari blushed back ever so slightly and replied "I agree…"

The waiter returned a short moment later, balancing in his right hand a tray with two small plates. "This first dish," the waiter began to detail, "is the restaurant's signature smoked house salmon. We only use domestic wild salmon for our dishes, this, in particular, coming from Laosu Hokkaido. The salmon has been paired with flavors picked specifically to complement the main portion of the dish. Enjoy."

And for the _fourth_ time this evening, he left without another word (rather rapidly at that.) Sōjirō began to wonder about his commitment to his job… Regardless, he was impressed at what he and Yukari had been presented… _almost_. The salmon seemed cooked to perfection, as did the complementing pieces, but there was only one problem, and to him (a man who had been secretly starving upon his arrival to the restaurant) was a _big_ problem: the portions were diminutive. All the pristine plate held was a two inch strip of fish, a one inch section of asparagus, a wedge of lemon, and a red tuff of some sort of leafy vegetable he could not identify.

He stared at his dish for a long moment with a good look of disappointment in his eyes. Then, when he looked up to see how Yukari was reacting, he noticed that _she_ had a look of her own, though _hers_ was more of indifference.

He grinned. "You've had these types of dishes before, I'm going to guess."

She returned the gaze and gracefully smiled back. "Yes, actually."

"And the portions don't get much larger than this, I bet?"

"I'm afraid so," she chuckled.

"… Takara-san, can I be blunt with you?"

"Oh, um… Yes, please, _do_." She was curious as to where this was going to go.

Sōjirō leaned forward a bit. "_Honestly_, my stomach has been eating itself from the inside out for the last twenty minutes." Again, to Sōjirō's surprise, Yukari _laughed._ _This **is** a good sign. Keep it up, Sōjirō._ "I'm sure the food here is great, but I'd pass it all up for, oh, a burger and a few pints of beer." Now Yukari was _really_ laughing, so much so that _she_ was garnering looks from the nearby patrons.

"So," he continued, "what do you say we go and do _that_?"

"Wha-? You mean, like, right _now_? But what about the dinner here?"

"We ditch. Konata said it was all paid for in advance. Didn't your daughter tell you that?"

"Well, she _did_, but- But I'm not sure if we should."

"Hmm… Well, what if I said we're doing it, whether you want to or not?"

Yukari forced herself not to gasp. In that moment, Sōjirō said something that instantly reminded her of Shuji. _"But whenever he did get a chance, he would take Miyuki and I out and do something as a family, whether either of us felt up to it or not." _She remembered saying that not a few days ago to Mugi, and now, _Sōjirō_ just said it. If this wasn't a clear enough sign for her _nothing would be_.

"W-What do I say to _that_?" she replied, leaning forward herself. Then, as a mischievous grin materialized on her face, she whispered back "_I_ say… you're on."

"Then we book it to the door on the count of three.

One…

Two…"

-o0o-

Meanwhile, at a nearby table, two of-age schoolgirls were experiencing the results of breaking one of the first rules of drinking: getting food or liquid in your system _before_ the alcohol. Miyuki and Konata had eaten _nothing_ prior to popping open a bottle of champagne, and right now, after consuming the entire bottle's contents between them, _both_ their heads began to spin.

"I-Izumi-san, I t-think I feel a bit light-headed," Miyuki said to her blue-haired companion. "Perhaps we drank a bit too much."

"Nonsense!" Konata shot back. "_I_ say we didn't have _enough_!" Then, as she reached over to the champagne bottle, she accidentally knocks it over, only to see that it was empty. "Oh… Ok, maybe we _did_ have too much. Jeez, I'm surprised we finished it all…" She looked back across the restaurant floor, to Yukari and Sōjirō's table and, through her inebriation, it took her a moment to notice that something was amiss. "… H-hey, Yuki-chan?"

"Mmm?" she sounded back.

"Did you see either my dad or your mom leave for the bathroom or something?"

"Um… No, I don't think so… Why?"

"Because I'm looking at their table and… none of them are there."

"Oh… _What?_" Like a slap to the face, Miyuki sobered up in the blink of an eye. She whipped her head around and, just as Konata said, the two of them were nowhere to be seen. "What the-? Where did they go?"

"I-I don't know!" Konata grabbed the sleeve of the next passing waiter and frantically asked him "That empty table over there, did you see where the two that were just sitting there went?"

The waiter glanced at the table and immediately scoffed. "Oh, _them_. They suddenly got up ten minutes ago and ran off, causing quite a ruckus. Quite unrefined…"

Konata quickly looked back to Miyuki. "Ten _minutes_? How drunk were we that we didn't notice that happen!"

"I-I don't know, Izumi-san, b-but how are we going to find out where they even _went_?"

"Well, didn't both their and our limos park in the back?"

"Um, yes, they did."

"Then maybe our driver saw where they went. Come on!" Just like their parents, the two leapt from their seats and quickly headed out the front door, making a commotion of their own. They entered into the chilled night air and headed directly toward the rear of the restaurant, where its parking lot was located. They spotted their white limo easily, its driver leaning backwards against the driver side door, smoking a cigarette. He quickly stamped it out the moment he noticed the two girls heading over in direction.

"U-Uh, ladies," he greeted. "I thought the dinner service was planned to end _later_."

Konata quickly explained to the man that "Sōjirō and Yukari left suddenly and we didn't see where they went. We were wondering if you saw where their limo went."

"They left early…? Sorry, I _don't _know where they went… But hold on, I think I can find out. If I remember, both limos were rented by the same company, so if I call the car itself…" He reached into his left pant pocket and retrieved a cell phone. He punched in a number and, within a moment, he was talking to someone. "Hey, it's Tetsuya. Yeah, I hear ya left early?... They did?... Oh, ok, got ya… Alright, see ya." He hung up and turned his attention back to the girls. "Looks like the two of them _did_ split early. They asked where the nearest bar and they asked that they be brought there. It's not too far off, only a couple of blocks. Do you want to go there as well?"

"Of course!" Konata answered. "We gotta-!"

"Izumi-san, _no_." Miyuki spoke up, cutting the blue-haired girl short. "I think it would be best that we _not_ interfere. I think it's best we went home, actually. Besides, I'd _personally_ like noting more than to fall asleep."

Relentingly, Konata agreed. "Damnit, _ok_… Fine, let's go home."

-o0o-

After their spur-of-the-moment leaving of the Aragawa, Sōjirō and Yukari found an American-style pub located a few short blocks away. In the wake of the commotion they caused after running out on a bill, they caused a bit more by entering the pub dressed as they were: Yukari so extravagantly and Sōjirō so downturned. Over a burger and a number of pints between themselves, the two hit it off better than one could ever think possible. They talked and talked and, before the both of them had a moment to notice, it was already one in the morning, the hour of the bar's last call.

Though annoyed as he was for being kept so long, the limo driver had remained by to bring the two home, first stopping at the Takara residence. By that hour Miyuki had returned and was well asleep in her room. With the former's right arm interlocked with the other's left, Sōjirō led Yukari up the front yard's path and to the front steps of her home. They stopped before the front door to exchange their goodnights.

Yukari had been grinning for the last few hours straight. She was still giggling form the spontaneity of the entire evening. "My goodness," she said as the two stopped at the front door and turned to face each other, "I haven't had this much fun in such a long time… Thank you, Izumi-san, for the wonderful evening."

"O-Oh no, please, if anyone is to be thanked, it's our daughters. They're the ones that set this whole thing up."

"Even still, it was wonderful… Thank you, again."

"No problem…" He paused. It was clear he wanted to say more (as the expression on his face showed.)

"Yes, Izumi-san?" Yukari asked.

"N-Nothing, it's just… Well… I was just wondering if, uh…"

"Yes?"

"… If, perhaps, you'd consider… doing this _again?_"

Her eyes widened. "A-Again?"

"Y-Yeah, well… I mean, Konata and Miyuki went through all this trouble setting this up, and we've both had them worried. I figured we owe it to them to give things a shot, you know?" _And you **still** can't say what you really want to, can you, Sōjirō? Just say it: I love you and I want to make this work between us._

Suddenly, Yukari's smiling disposition stopped and her brow suddenly narrowed, showing an emotion she had not shown throughout the entire evening: _annoyed_. Furthermore her voice carried the same exact tone. "So what you're saying is… You're doing for our _daughters'_ sake?"

"Uh, I-I-"

She took a threatening step forward. "So it's not because you _want_ to, but because you feel _obligated?_ Is that what I am to you? An _obligation?_"

"Wha-! N-No! Honest, I-"

*Chuu*

Yukari suddenly leaned forward and gave Sōjirō a quick kiss. "Just kidding~!" she joked. Such was her fabled mischievous sense of humor.

Then, as she reeled her head back, she made it no more than a couple of inches before she unexpectedly stopped. It was in that moment that she remembered something, or more accurately, had a thought: this was the first time, in over ten years (since the death of her husband) that she had felt the touch of a man's lips to hers. She had forgotten how that sensation felt. And it felt… _good_.

_Really good._

The woman's face flushed pink, her breath increasing in tempo. "T-Takara-san?" Sōjirō asked. "Are you-?" He was cut short when Yukari closed the gap between them and locked her arms around the other's shoulders. The distance between their noses was back to no more than a mere inch.

"_Please_, Sōjirō," she whispered. "Call me… _Yukari_."

The gap closed yet again and the two met at the lips. Yukari tightened the hold of her arms and pressed herself tighter against the other's chest, deepening the kiss in the process. Sōjirō, however, had remained standing as straight as a board throughout. He _too_ had forgotten this feeling: the loving touch of another. Not since _Kanata's_ death nearly _twenty_ years ago had he felt a touch that went above plutonic or familial. After such a length of time, suddenly being on the receiving end of such affection put the man in an awkward place. However, he was still not _completely_ unknowing of what to do.

Finally coming to his senses, he slowly brought his arms around Yukari, bringing them to grasp on her lower back. She voiced a muffled sound at the new touch, the tightness of her hug increasing by slightly more. And their lips _still_ had yet to break their contact. At least not for the next minute, they didn't.

Yukari was the one to break the contact when she eventually pulled her head back to catch her breath. And for a while, the two merely said nothing, and instead, looked into each other's eyes.

"S- Sōjirō," whispered Yukari. "Would you mind… coming inside for a bit?"

"_Wha-!_ Y-You mean, like, right now? But what about-?"

"She'll most likely be asleep by this hour. Come on, won't you?"

"I-I don't-"

"_Please?_"

…

_Kanata, forgive me…_

-o0o-

When Konata awoke the next morning, she found the home quite devoid of life. On an average day, after waking up, taking a quick shower, and changing into her school uniform, she would head downstairs to find her father making breakfast (which more often than not consisted of the leftovers from yesterday.) But rather than become worried, Konata got excited. "_Maybe this means that things went a lot better after they ran off…_" she wondered to herself.

She went through her morning routine without Sōjirō just as well. Then as she grabbed her schoolbag and made for the front door, approaching within five feet of it, the doorknob's lock suddenly clicked open on its own. The door then open up, revealing a rather tired-looking Sōjirō standing on the other side.

"Whoa! Dad, you're back!" Konata exclaimed. "I was, uh, wondering why you didn't come back last night." This was, of course, a lie, but she had to keep up the illusion that she was at home the entire evening of yesterday. "So… How did it go- _Aah!_"

The girl found herself in the crushing hug of her father before she could even react. "Konata!" he cheered. "The next time we go manga shopping, I'm buying you _whatever you want_!"

"_…_ Dad, you _always_ buy me whatever I want," she joked. "… So, I'm guessing the blind date went well?"

"Well… how does 'Yukari _Izumi_' sound to you?"

"… Sound good, Dad," Konata replied as she embraced her father back. "Sounds good…"


	6. Immature?

Chapter 6

"Ok, let's go over the checklist one more time, just to make sure we've got everything."

"Ok, sure."

"Alright, so, not counting the basics… Unagi?"

"Check."

"Hmm… We got red miso, right?"

"Red _and_ white."

"Excellent… Ok, sake?"

"Yes, please."

Nanako nearly tripped over her own feet. Thankfully her shopping cart was in front of her so she was able to catch herself on that, and once she regained her footing, she turned back around to face Sawako. "No, you idiot," she told her, "I mean did you _get_ any?"

"Uh…"

"You didn't, did you?"

"Well… no."

"*Sigh* Didn't you hear me tell you earlier? 'Hey, Sawako, go pick out a good bottle of sake while I go on ahead.' Don't remember me saying that?" All the brunette could do was give back an embarrassed gesture of scratching the back of her neck. "Oh come on, that was only five minutes ago!"

"Oh relax, Nanako," Sawako said. "It's nothing to get your panties in a bunch. We only got one aisle left. I'll go get a bottle and catch you before we hit the registers, ok?"

Again, the blonde sighed. "Fine… But make sure it's _good_ sake. I plan on using it for dinner tonight."

"Sure sure," said Sawako as she left, leaving the final aisle for Nanako to take on. This last aisle was the refrigerated section, and for Nanako, there was only one thing she needed from here: a dozen eggs. As she neared that particular section of shelf, she thought she spied from a distance a familiar silhouette standing in front of the stacks of egg cartons. Her suspicions were only confirmed when she ventured closer and saw that it was one of her neighbors. "Mina-san!" she greeted.

The neighbor in question was a one Mina Otake, a woman who (to an almost humorous degree) fit the physical description of a stereotypical old Japanese woman. She had silver hair that was pulled back and tied into a bun, a face with deep wrinkles, warm and friendly eyes that had been reduced to squinting slits in her latter years, a hunched-forward posture, and was dressed in a simple earth-colored shawl over more simple clothing… Yep, pretty much as unsuspecting as one could look at their age.

At the mention of her name she looked over to her left and gave Nanako back her usual pleasant smile. "Afternoon, Kuroi-san," she greeted back. "You're shopping today as well, I see."

Nanako stopped a few feet to the old woman's right, _also_ standing in front of the egg. "Yep," she answered. "Getting the weekly shopping in, you know. Better _now_ than yesterday, when the new sale week starts and the store's swamped."

"Mmm, I suppose that's true… Is Yamanaka-san with you as well?"

"Oh, yeah, she is. She just went back to grab some sake." She turned her gaze onto the stacks of egg cartons and began to look them over for the one with a far off expiration date. "I was going to make something with it tonight, actually. Though I don't know many dishes that use sake… Say, Mina-san, do _you_ know any-?"

"I think you should stop this charade, Kuroi-san," Mina suddenly interrupted.

"… E-Excuse me?" The comment came so abruptly that Nanako didn't understand it right away.

The old woman pivoted on her feet and turned to face Nanako _directly_. No longer was she smiling, and she no longer had a friendly look in her eyes. Quite the contrary: they were now in the sternest state Nanako had ever witnessed them in. Mina continued. "You know, Kuroi-san, _I_ was in the same position you were in," she explained. "I, like many others as a child, had a female sempai I learned under, and for a time, I thought _I_ was in love with her as well… But I _didn't _act on it. Instead, I graduated, moved on, married my current husband, and I _grew up_… Perhaps it's time that you did the same…

Good day, Kuroi-san."

She gave the blonde a polite bow before turning away and leaving toward the checkout line at the front of the store. Nanako, however, was left petrified, a shocked and dumbfounded look upon her visage. She simply couldn't believe what she had just heard: Otake-san, who had been nothing but the nicest person to her and Sawako, had basically told her to end her marriage. Not only that, but also to 'grow up,' and _that_ comment seemed to hurt her the most.

She was left in such a dazed state that she did not hear Sawako return and walk up back behind her. "Yo, Nanako, I got a bottle," she proclaimed, holding up a sake bottle of green glass. "And look, it's the same stuff we got at Daiwa, remember? Not sure if this is good for cooking, but hell, we can just drink it if it's not…" She finally noticed that Nanako had not turned back around to face her, and _also_ that she seemed to be standing quite still. "Hey, Earth to Kuroi, you there?"

She finally snapped out of her daze and whipped back around. "Ah- Oh, sorry, I guess I didn't hear you."

"Thinking about something?"

"Yeah…"

"Hmm… Well, I got some sake. This any good?"

She took the bottle and looked it over, instantly recognizing it. "How am I not surprised you got _this_… Yeah, this should do fine… Well, that's everything, I guess."

"Sweet, then let's head back home." And so they did, after checking out their groceries and packing them into the boot of Sawako's red Scion xB. Nanako remained strangely quiet on the way back, something Sawako _did_ notice, but chose not to bring up _just_ yet…

-o0o-

Both women of the married couple lugged two full bags on each arm as they walked back into their house together. They made immediately for the kitchen, where they put their many bags down and began to put away the numerous food stuffs. And all throughout, Nanako was still not speaking a word.

Sawako had had enough. "Ok Nanako, out with it," she demanded.

Nanako snapped out of her daze again and looked her wife back. "Eh?" she sounded.

"You've been quiet the whole car ride back. Something's up, I know there is, so out with it."

"O-Oh, it's nothing, really," she replied.

"Bullshit. You never _have_ and you never_ will_ be a good liar, Nanako. Out with it."

"*Sigh* Ok, _fine_… Well, I saw Mina-san at the store-"

"You mean Otake-san? The old lady next door?"

"Right."

"That's nice. Did you two talk?"

"A-Actually… She told me to… She told me to _grow up_."

Sawako raised an eyebrow at this, putting down whatever she had in her hands. "'Grow up'?" she repeated. "What did she say _that_ for? When was this?"

"After you left to get the sake. I saw her in the next aisle and walked over to say hi. We talked a little, and then… Well, she told me that she was once in _my_ position." Sawako again gave her wife a questioning look but chose to remain silent. The blonde continued, though there was clear hesitance in her voice. "She said that _she_ had a sempai she thought _she_ loved, but instead she 'grew up' and moved on… Then she told me that I should do the same…"

Sawako stared back, dead silent, at the telling of this story. Her mouth dropped from the shock of hearing such things from Mina, a neighbor that had always been so nice to her. "I-I… I don't believe this… So, she basically told you to _divorce_ me?"

"I-I think so, yeah…"

"… That wrinkled old _cunt_!"

Nanako jumped. "Eh-! W-What?"

It was as if Wild Sawako made a sudden reemergence."Who the fuck does she think she is, getting away with saying shit like that!" Before Nanako realized it Sawako had already began to march toward the front door. "I'm going over there right now and giving her a piece of my mi-"

"Sawako, no, _wait_!" The blonde called out just as Sawako had stepped into the foyer. The outcry forced her to a halt before turning herself back around.

"What? Why did you tell me to stop? You can't let her talk about you like that, man!"

"But Sawako… I think she might be _right_."

"Huh? What do you mea-?" She stopped abruptly, a horrified expression creeping on her face. "Oh my God…" she whispered as she brought her right hand over her mouth. "D-Don't tell me… y-you really _do_ want to d-divorce?" She absolutely feared a positive reply.

"Ye- Wha-! No, _no_, nonononono NO! Of course not! _Absolutely_ not!"

"Then what the hell are you talking about!" The frightened look on Sawako's face had faded away, but now she looked more confused than ever.

"I _mean_, Sawako, that… I think I really _am_ immature."

Now Sawako looked positively befuddled. "… _That's it_?" she deadpanned. "_That's_ what you're all worked up about? Mina-san called you immature and you think she is _right_?" The other nodded back. "*Sigh* Nanako, _I_ could have told you _that_. I _know_ you're immature. I mean, damn, you got enough video games and otaku paraphernalia to make any teenage boy cream his pants. But that's nothing to get _upset_ about. Hell, that's half the reason I fell in love with you in the first place: because you were so fucking goofy.

But just because you're immature doesn't mean you're not responsible or lazy- Ok, you _are_ lazy, but it doesn't matter. You work, you pay bills, and get shit done. So who cares if you goof off a _little_."

For the first time since her conversation with Mina, Nanako managed to grin. "Thanks… But, uh, Sawako, I don't think she was calling me immature because I play games and stuff."

"Hmm? No? Then _why_?"

"I think it's because… Because I _married you_. I think _that's_ the reason."

Sawako opened her mouth, as if she was about to say something, but quickly shut it when she found out she had nothing _to_ say back (at least not for the moment.) She paused and scratched her chin in thought, but after a moment or two, came up with nothing. "Hmm," she sounded, "that… _that's_ something I don't think I can explain, Nanako… So, you think _that's_ why she called you immature?" The blonde nodded back. "… Shit, I don't know what to tell ya, babe… So, do you think she thinks _I'm_ immature as well?"

"Possibly… Jeez, I wish I knew what to make of this. I mean, if she really thinks that way, how did she link us being married to immaturity?"

"Again, I don't know what to tell ya, because I have no damn clue… Hey, maybe that student of yours might know. The one with pink hair- crap, what was her name again…?"

"Miyuki Takara?" Nanako asked.

"That's the one: Miyuki. She's supposed to be a brainiac, right?"

"Yeah, _that's_ for sure." She cringed slightly at the thought: how her students would go to _Miyuki_ with question rather than their own _teacher_. "Yeah, maybe _she'd_ know. You want me to ask her tomorrow at work?"

"Nah, we're classier than _that_. I say we both go visit her house tomorrow and ask her in-person."

"… You just want to see her house, don't you?"

"… _Maybe_…"

-o0o-

At around 17:00 the next day, Miyuki gathered Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi in the living room of her home to tell them about Sawako and Nanako's visit. Tsumugi was there as well (only because she kept insisting that she come over earlier that day.) Once the three were there and waiting, the pinkette said her words. "Ok, everyone, Kuroi-san and Yamanaka-san will be here soon. So, and I feel really bad saying this, but I want you, Kagami-san and Tsukasa-san, to not be seen by them when they're over."

Tsukasa suddenly shot her right hand up. "May I ask a question?" she inquired.

"Of course, Tsukasa-san."

"Ok then… Why?"

"Well, frankly, the reason they're stopping by is because they needed advice of a more _personal_ nature. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but at any rate, I wouldn't want them to worry more by finding out something like this- I-I mean, if you don't agree, I-!"

"No, it's ok, Miyuki," Kagami interjected. "We understand." Surprisingly enough, Kagami was lying. She _didn't_ understand. In fact, she wanted nothing more than to tell someone about this, someone like Nanako or Sawako: someone else that could possibly understand what was going on between her and Tsukasa. But her modesty got the better of her that day, and so she remained silent. After all, it was Miyuki that brought them in and gave them a home.

"That means you too, Kotobuki-san," she then said, turning her gaze to the blonde. "I'm still not ready for anyone else to find out about _us_, so if you can stay in my room while they-"

"Awwww, come on, Yuki-chan!" she whined. "They're not going to automatically assume we're together if they see me over. That's silly." But after she received a slight glare from Miyuki that only _she_ saw, Mugi relented. "Oh _fine_," she huffed.

"Thank you," she said back with a smile, _just_ as the buzzer for the front gate sounded. "Oh my, they're already here!" The three retreated to the upstairs and Miyuki straightened her appearance out before approaching a monitor near the front door and turning it on. Sawako and Nanako appeared from the other side, the former of which giving a wave. Miyuki unlocked the gate and the two arrive at the front door a short moment later.

"Good evening, Yamanaka-san, Kuroi-san," she greeted as the two entered and removed their shoes.

"Hi there," the blonde said back. "Thanks for having us on such short notice. Hope we're not intruding on anything."

"Oh, nothing at all, really."

"Say, is your mother home? Last time I saw her was during the parent-teacher conferences a few months ago."

"Oh, actually, she's out for the evening." With Sōjirō. _Again_. For the fourth time in two weeks. Ever since their first date, the two had been busy as bees getting ready for their future wedding, which was, realistically, at least six months away. Miyuki wasn't complaining, however: she had never seen her mother so happy than how she was right now. "Please, let's go to the living room. I made tea."

The teachers followed the pink head of hair into the adjacent room and sat next to each other on one couch as Miyuki left to fetch the aforementioned tea from the kitchen. This afforded Sawako a chance to look around at her surroundings. "Not bad," she complemented. "Not bad at all. Glad I thought of coming by, right?"

"Oh stop it," said Nanako. "Don't forget the reason we're here in the first place."

"Sure sure…" Miyuki returned a moment later with a tray, holding a trio of mugs with steaming hot green tea. She placed it down on the glass table and took a seat on the opposite side. She wasted no time in initiating conversation. "So, what was it you wanted to ask me?" she politely asked.

"Oh yeah, right… Well, it happened yesterday. Sawako and I were grocery shopping and, while she went back to get something, I saw my next-door neighbor in the next aisle and walked over to say hello. We talked for a bit, but then… she told me something really weird.

Well _first_ she told me to 'stop this charade.' _Then_ she said 'I was in the same position you were in. I had a female sempai I learned under, and I thought _I_ was in love with her as well… But I _didn't _act on it. Instead, I graduated, moved on, married my current husband, and I _grew up_… Perhaps it's time that you did the same…'

That's pretty much _exactly_ what she told me. Then she just bowed and _walked away_ like it was nothing!"

Sawako picked up the explanation from there. "When we got home Nanako told me what had happened, and when she did, I wanted to march right next door and clock the old bat in the face." Miyuki flinched at that. "But of course I _didn't_. But we _did_ try to figure out why she would say those things and we both came to a conclusion that was she calling Nanako immature, but it was because… Well, because _she_ married _me_."

"That's what we came by to ask you," Nanako continued. "We can't, for the life of us, understand how she came up with that sort of conclusion. I mean granted _yes_, I'll admit, I'm a bit immature, but it's not because I married Sawako (at lease _I_ don't think so.) And, well, you're pretty much the smartest person the both of us know, so we thought that maybe you could help us figure it out."

Miyuki grinned at the complement but that quickly faded when she began to think the story over. Her gaze dropped to the mug of green tea sitting in front of her. "Hmmm…" she sounded. "That _is _rather odd… If I may ask, how old _is_ this neighbor?"

Sawako answered "She has to be at least in her late sixties, or somewhere around there (though she look a bit younger than what she is.) Why?"

The girl's gaze lifted. "Well then, that actually makes sense now. I ask because those are rather old ideals."

"Oh?"

"Correct. You see, as you are probably aware, personal bonds have always been expected with the sempai/kouhai relationship. Traditionally, these bonds are meant to be ones of respect and mentoring, with _romantic_ aspects, which may or may not occur, are not often talked about. But in more _modern_ times, romantic aspects have been given more light and, in some cases, encouraged.

Likewise, more traditional thoughts (which began to fade out due in slight part with the integration of Western culture) sees someone who remains emotionally or romantically attached to their sempai or kouhai as a sign of _immaturity_ and/or an unwillingness to let go of childhood attachments.

I think this is why she told you that, Kuroi-san."

Nanako's eyes widened at the sudden realization. "Oh my God," she exclaimed, "that's it! It all makes sense!"

"Yeah, but there's one problem with that," Sawako interjected. "I'm _not_ and never _was_ your sempai. Granted I'm a year older than you, but we were just _roommates_."

"But Mina-san doesn't know that. She thinks you _were_ my sempai."

"But there's a bigger problem here: she _still_ called you immature right to your face! You shouldn't take that, Nanako. _I_ say you call that bitch out give her a piece of your mind!"

"Oh come on, Sawako. We can't blame her for thinking like that. That's probably just how she was raised."

"But that doesn't mean we can't tell her she's wrong… Miyuki, what do _you_ think we should do?"

"Eh-!" the girl flinched. "W-Well, I can't say she's completely to blame, but-"

"Yuki-chan~!"

A young, female voice sounded at the top of the stairs in the adjacent hallway, followed shortly after by the thuds of descending footfalls. While the eyes of the two teachers shifted to the doorway, Miyuki turned as still as stone. "Oh crap…" she whispered aloud.

A moment later, Miss Kotobuki poked her head into sight. "Yuki-chan~! The remote to the television in your room died. Where are the batteries?"

In response, Miyuki Takara did something none of the other three thought was possible for her: she got _angry_. Understandably, she asked only _one_ thing of Mugi: to stay in her room while Sawako and Nanako were over, and she failed to do just that, seemingly out of sheer forgetfulness.

Regardless, the pinkette suddenly shot up from her chair, her arms straight and parallel by her sides, and turned her reddened face to Mugi. "Kotobuki-san~!" she yelled. "I told you to stay in my room while Kuroi-san and Yamanaka-san were over~!"

Miyuki's yelling actually succeeded in frightening Mugi so much that she voiced a yelp as she ran back up the stairs in retreat. Miyuki took a moment to retain her composure, and when she turned back to the couple, her face turned red for a new reason: embarrassment. Both Nanako and Sawako were quite literally staring back at her.

"… Well…" Sawako finally said. "What was _that_ about?"

"N-Nothing!" she instantly defended. "It was nothing!"

"That didn't _look _ like no-"

Again, the girl snapped. "I _said_ it was_ nothing!_..." In another shock, Miyuki's usual light and polite manner seemed to drop, instead replaced with rather deadpanned straight-forwardness. *Sigh* You want my _honest_ opinion? I think you _should_ go talk with this neighbor and tell her that she offended you. I'm not saying you should burn her house down, just politely say that you were offended by her comment and that the way she did it was uncalled for.

Ok?"

The wide-eyed teachers nodded their heads in response. "Uh, s-sure," Nanako replied. "We'll do that… Uh, thanks _again_, Miyuki, for letting us stop by. And thanks for helping us out."

In another blink of the eye the pinkette's kind mannerisms returned. "Oh, it was my pleasure. Please, feel free to stop by anytime you want to." The teachers got up and gave Miyuki one final thank you before heading out the door, and once gone, Miyuki made for her upstairs room to give another blonde a right good scolding.

"… Hey, Nanako," said Sawako as the two passed through the front gate and onto the sidewalk, "Miyuki, she's not, like… a _demon_ in disguise or something, is she?"

"Wha-? Don't be ridiculous," she laughed back. "Why would you say _that_?"

"Did you not _see_ the shift she just did? It was like I was watching two different people swap places!"

"Oh come on, you're over exaggerating. I mean granted she acts nice ninety-nine percent of the time, but that doesn't mean she can't have her moments."

"Yeah yeah, I guess…" she then sighed. "… So, it's settled then? We talk to Mina-san and tell her how she offended us, correct?"

"Right."

"So let's stop by tomorrow and-"

"_I_ say we go _tonight_, while I'm still feeling confident."

"Now _that's_ the spirit!"

-o0o-

While said confidence still burned within Nanako, the couple took the train back to Sakura and then drove themselves home, returning there a little before 18:00. However, _so_ determined was Nanako that, upon parking in their home's driveway, she didn't take the time to go inside. She took Sawako by surprise when she immediately got out of the passenger seat and walked over toward the neighboring Otake home to the right, leaving Sawako to catch up.

She walked right up the steps onto the front porch and to the front door, but before ringing the doorbell, took a moment to both calm herself down slightly and straighten out her appearance. Sawako finally caught up just as the doorbell was rung. She walked up and stood closely behind Nanako.

A short moment passed before the door opened, the doorbell answered by none other than Mina herself. Her eyes widened just slightly when she recognized who she just opened the door to. "Oh, Kuroi-san, Yamanaka-san, how unexpected. Tetsuo and I were just about to sit down for dinner-"

"Don't worry," Nanako interrupted. "I won't take up too much of your time. I just need to say a few things to you.

First and foremost, I _will_ admit that yes, I _am_ immature: I tend to slack off when I have work that needs doing, I have enough video games to rival most teenage boys, read more manga than actual books, and watch more anime than I do any other type of television. I _admit_ that makes me immature, but I am just as responsible as any other adult. I teach students at Ryoo High School, I pay my bills and taxes, and I work _hard_ to make a living… And _furthermore_, I am _not_ immature because I married the woman I _love_, who _just so_ _happened_ to be my sempai. That _might_ have been what you were taught when _you_ were a kid, but that's not how things are _today_.

That's all I have to say… Good day to _you_, Otake-san." _She_ then gave the other a bow before turning about-face and walking back home, again leaving Sawako to catch up. Mina, however, remained in the doorway with a shocked look on her face. Not only had the shoe been place on the other foot, it had be welded on.

The first thing Nanako did upon returning home (apart from removing her shoes, which really should be a given at this point) was head straight for the kitchen and grab a bottle of beer from the fridge, which she proceeded to gulp down with her head tilted back. By the time Sawako entered the kitchen afterward, half the bottle's contents were already in her stomach. "Jesus," she exclaimed. "That was bloody brilliant to watch, Nanako. I don't think I've ever seen you act like that before!"

The blonde rocked her head back forward and voiced a refreshed "Aaaah," placing the half-empty bottle on the counter. "Man that felt good. _Real_ good! That was such a rush, my hands are still shaking!"

"Well ya did good today, hun." She walked over and placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "Now give _me_ one of those beers before I divorce you for real."

"_Not_ funny, Sawako."

-o0o-

Three days passed since Nanako Kuroi made her glorious rebuttal against Mina's comment. And since that day, they had seen little of her. Usually, during the evening, she would take a walk around the neighborhood, leaving her house at the exact same hour. But since that day, she suddenly stopped. Nanako began to wonder if she was to blame for this, that perhaps she was too harsh in her comeback. Sawako assured her she was in every right to do so, but Kuroi still wasn't sure… that is, until on the morning of the forth day, Sawako checked her mailbox and found a short but precise letter addressed to both her and Nanako. A letter from Mina.

_Dear Kuroi-san and Yamanaka-san,_

_ Nanako, I've thought about the things I've said and, after hearing how offended you were, I feel ashamed about my actions. You were correct to feel insulted. And to Sawako, who has been a friendly neighbor for the past few years, I apologize as well. It was wrong of me to presume so much about you wife and I hope, with this apology, that there will be no hard feelings between us._

_ Wishing you two the best of luck,_

_ Mina_

After that day, Mina resumed her evening walks, and since then she gained a certain blonde-haired neighbor as a companion.


	7. Revelations and Preparations

Chapter 7

An unassuming evening fell upon the Yamanaka/Kuroi household. After Nanako left to join Mina on another one of her evening walks, Sawako did as they had planned just before the blonde left and ordered pizza. It was a Friday and none of them felt like cooking anything. She asked Nanako what kind she wanted, only to get the vague answer of "Surprise me." But after she thought about it for a while, Sawako came up with an interesting idea, asking the pizzeria for a "special request."

Nanako finally returned only a few minutes after the food was ordered. "I'm back!" she announced as she entered the kitchen, finding Sawako opening a bottle of beer. "Hey, toss me one of those too." After she did, Nanako finally noticed the large pizza box a few feet away on the kitchen table. "Ah, it's delivered already. Cool."

"Go on, open it up. I think you'll like my choice."

"Haha, oh yeah? Let me guess…" she reached for the box and threw up the lid. "I bet you got me my least favorite- _What_?" she then deadpanned.

Sawako apparent "special request" was a pizza that was made to look like a pokeball, with the red made from layered-thick pepperoni, the white made from feta cheese, and the black made from black olives.

Sawako looked back to her wife and, again deadpanning, asked her "… _Really_?"

"What? I thought you'd find it funny."

Nanako looked back at the pizza and, after looking at it for a moment, a sort of _scoff_ escaped her lips. "You know what, Sawako? I've been waiting years to say something like this to you…

This is the lamest thing you've ever done. _Ever_."

"Ah-!" Sawako choked back a sound of shock. "Wha- What do you mean!"

The other turned back to Sawako, placing both hands on her hips, a fanged grin materializing on her face. "I mean _really_ Sawako, a _pokeball_? This would have been funny when we were in our university days, but _seriously_?" It was quite obvious she was having _much_ too much amusement poking fun at Sawako.

The brunette began to blush from embarrassment. "H-Hey, I was just trying to do something funny. Well if you're going to be like _that_ then, then to hell with y-"

"Oh quit over-reacting. You know I'm only screwing with you, right."

"Ah-… Y-Yeah, right, I-I knew that. Totally…" The blush deepened.

"Seriously though, that was really nice of you. Thanks." Nanako, grabbing a steak knife from the utensil drawer, carved the pizza into eight equal slices, splitting the red and white halves into four. Then, taking one slice of each, asked her wife "So, did you pick a movie while I was on my walk?"

"Actually," the brunette replied, "I had another idea."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Nanako, you still have your old Playstation, right?"

"Oh yeah, sure. It's upstairs in the hallway closet, in that box on the floor. Why do you ask?"

"You still have that copy of Final Fantasy VII?"

"Of course! You know how rare black-label copies of that game are? I know a few people that are willing to buy it off of me for at least ten thousand yen! Uh, why are you asking this again?"

"Well, I thought back to how you were always playing that game when we were roommates. While I _watched_ you play plenty of times, I never actually played it myself… So, I thought that maybe instead of watching a movie, we-"

"I'll be right back!" Before Sawako could register what had happened Nanako had already sprinted upstairs to the aforementioned closet. A short moment later she came bounding back down and headed straight for the living room, where their television was. She wasted no time in plugging it in and setting the console up.

By the time Sawako entered the living room after her, carrying both their drinks and plates, Nanako was already done and the console had already been turned on, the familiar start-up noise emanating through the speakers. Sawako grabbed the controller and plopped onto the couch as the opening credit sequence began. Nanako did the same and nudged herself into the other's left side, her head resting on the shoulder.

Once the main menu popped up, the blonde asked "Want me to remind you of the story so you aren't completely lost?" She assumed Sawako was going to play her save file.

"Fuck that," she replied. "I'm doing this the right way," and she started a new game. Nanako nestled in closer as the first FMV of the game played. She hummed along to the music with perfect memory.

"_Jeez, I feel like I'm back in the dorm again, only the roles have been reversed. Glad I thought of this when I did._"

_- One Hour and a Few Beers Later-_

"No, no, _no!_ You're going the wrong way!" Nanako shouted in Sawako's ear with a mouth full of pizza. Her head was still leaning against the other's shoulder.

"Ok, _ok!_ Jeez, you're going to fuck up my hearing. Ok, so- Damnit, another random encounter! Wait, why is the music different?"

"Boss battle! Boss battle!"

"Oh, really? Cool, the first one." She reached forward and grabbed the bottle of beer from off the table, taking a quick chug of it. "Ok, giant robo-scorpio, I see… Suggestions?"

"Make Cloud use Bolt a lot. He's weak against shock attacks. Barret can attack normally, I guess."

"Got it." And so the battle commenced. The two characters took turns making their individual attacks before the scorpion took his. It rotated around to Cloud and the caption "Scorpion Tail" popped up before the robot lifted up its tail and struck the spiky-haired character for massive damage.

Then, after the party made another round of attacks, the scorpion lifted its tail again but did not attack. Suddenly, a dialog box of Cloud's popped up, which Sawako read aloud.

"'Barret, be careful! Attack while it's tail's up! It's gonna counterattack with its laser!' Uh… ok, sure."

Nanako gasped and outcried "No, _don't!_" but it was already too late. Barret made an attack and the scorpion made an instant counter attack, hitting _both_ members of the party, killing them instantly.

"Wha-! B-But I-! What the _fuck!_ I did what he told me to, so why did I die?"

"I tried to warn you, Sawako!" Nanako protested. "That's a typo in the game. One of the biggest slip-ups in the game _period_. You're actually _not_ suppose to attack when the tail is up."

"But-? What kind of shit is that! How could they let something like that slip by? Haha, imagine all those people who first got the game and got fucked over."

"Yeah, people like _me_," Nanako laughed back.

"Right, right." The brunette went through the menus again and started back where her last check point was which, mush to her dismay, was at a point ten minutes ago. "Great, now I have to go through all that dialogue crap again!"

"But hey, now we can get all those secrets items you missed last time."

"Oh shut up, Otakuroi. Ok, so we go up this way and- Hey!" Nanako suddenly shot a hand to the Playstation controller and pressed the triangle button, pausing the game with a menu. "Why did you pause it? I was- Eh!" Sawako turned to her left only to be met with Nanako's face only half a foot's distance away, her green eyes firmly locked the other's.

"What did you just call me?" Kuroi demanded.

"Uh… I-I don't know. Why, what _did_ I call you?"

"You just called me 'Otakuroi'!"

"… I did? Really?" The blonde nodded back. "Huh… I guess I kind of just said it out off reflex. Sorry."

"N-No, it's ok, it's just that I haven't been called that in a while…"

"Not since we visited Ryoko, yeah… It's just, this moment kind of reminded me of our days as students, you know." Covertly, she dropped the game system's control, which fell to the carpeted floor with a soft, unnoticed thud. At the same time, she brought those same hands around the back of Nanako's waist and pressed each other tighter together. "The game, you geeking out, it was…"

"Nostalgic?" Nanako asked in a whisper, to which she got back a nod. She already had a feeling where Sawako wanted to take the evening's activities and she was feeling more than willing to do so. "I agree. It's kind of memorable… Well, since that's the case, let's do a bit of reenacting, hmm? I say… that night after going to Daiwa."

Sawako smiled. "You're on."

Sawako fell backwards and stretched her height across the length of the couch as Nanako crawled atop of her. Once there, she rested her body down, their breasts pressing together, and the two brought their lips to touch. The kisses, as they usually did, began soft, the two taking the occasional nip at the other's neck. But inevitably, it became progressively more intense. Their breaths became more and more hardened and wrapped with emotion. It would not be long before their moment would travel upstairs and into their bedroom.

That _would_ have happened had the phone not rang.

Sawako ripped her lips from the other's to exclaim a frustrated "_Shit!_"

Equally frustrated, Nanako got up and marched into the kitchen, where the land line sat cradled in a receiver hung on the wall. She picked up the phone and answered with an unintentionally harsh "What!"

"_… H-Hello?_" sounded the voice on the other end. "_Is this the Yamanaka/Kuroi residence?_"

"Yes," she snapped.

"_... Is Kuroi-san available to talk?_"

"You're talking to her _now_."

"_Oh, uh, hi. It's me, Yui._"

The brashness dropped quickly. "Yui… Hirasawa?"

"_No, Narumi. Remember, I'm Konata's cousin._"

"O-_Oh!_ Yui, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to sound so rude just then. I-I was just, uh, busy at the moment."

"_No, that's ok. I guess I did call at a late hour anyway._"

"Hmm… So, how are things?"

The other end paused. "_… Actually, would it be possible to meet up soon? There's, uh, something I think you **and** Sawako should hear and I'd rather it be done in-person. You know that American diner in Ryoo?_"

"Oh yeah, of course I do." She and Sawako had gone for a few breakfasts there in the past. "When did you want to meet up?"

"_As soon as you can. Tomorrow, if possible._"

"Hmm. Yeah, tomorrow sounds good, we should be able to stop on by… Why can't you tell me now?"

"_Well, I could tell you now, but I also kind of wanted to see you again. We haven't really talked since the beach trip, you know?_"

"Right. Ok, see you then."

"_Ok. Goodnight._"

"Night." Nanako hung up the phone, and as she walked back to the living room, took a moment to wonder "_What could Yui want to talk about? And why did she seem so insistent on meeting up in-person?_" She kept those thoughts as she entered the living room. "Hey, Sawako, that was Yui on the phone and- Uh, what are you doing?"

Sawako looked to be two buttons away from opening her shirt up. "Hey, just getting prepared is all. Just because you left to answer the phone doesn't mean I'm not up for some fucking."

"Yeah, well keep it in for a few more minutes. That was Yui Narumi that just called. You remember who she is, right?"

"How could I forget? She bailed us out of jail."

"Right, right. Well, she wants to meet the both of us in Ryoo tomorrow, at that diner we've been to before."

"Oh? What for?"

"She, uh, didn't say. She wants to tell us in-person… She actually made a point of that."

Sawako sat up on the couch. "Hmm, sounds serious. Did she say what time to meet up?"

"Actually, no, I didn't think to ask that. I'll give her a call tomorrow and tell you."

"Ok… Oh _damnit_!"

"Eh- What is it?"

"_Humph_, I'm not in the mood anymore! Damnit, just when I thought I was gonna get laid the phone rings!... Screw it, I'm going back to the game." She snatched the Playstation controller from off the floor and fell back into the game of Final Fantasy.

Though Sawako seemed easy to give up that night, Nanako was having none of it, so before she sat back down on the couch, she went back into the fridge and snagged a few more bottles of beer. "_Yeah, get a few more of these in her system_," she thought to herself, "_and **then** we'll see who's not in the mood_."

-o0o-

The next day, after the two teachers returned home from work, spent less than an hour there before heading off again. They took Sawako's regular car to the station before taking that to Ryoo. The diner was a good ten minutes off from the high school. The diner's interior and décor was influenced with the look of America's 1950s: the floor tiles were checkerboard black and white, the booth seating was in red leather, and the waitresses' uniforms fit the period to a button.

It was around 18:00 when they arrived, and at this hour, the dinner crowd had already arrived. The place was nearly full, so it took a moment for the two to spot Yui sitting at the far booth to the right. The two waved and said "Hi" as they sat next to each other on the opposite side of the table.

Yui managed to give back a weak smile. "Glad you guys could come. Wanna get some coffee too?" A steaming cup already sat in front of her. "I'll buy."

"Oh, no, thank you," Nanako replied, Sawako nodding in agreement.

"Ok, but you might change your mind in a second…"

The married couple exchanged a quick worried glance before one of them- Nanako- got down to the matter at hand. "You wanted to tell us something, Yui?" she asked.

The officer lowered her worried eyes to her cup of coffee. "… I-I really had no idea," she began. "I mean, I noticed that she had been sort of in a slump for a while, but I didn't think much of it. I thought it was all teenage stuff: hormones, mood swings, and all that. But it continued for a few weeks and I still did or said nothing. If I had know, I-"

"You're talking about Konata, aren't you?" Kuroi interrupted, to which Yui nodded back. "I know how you're feeling. I've actually been on Konata's case for the few weeks as well. No matter how many times I've tried to get her to open up she'd say nothing."

"Yeah, she can be stubborn like that sometimes."

"But in the last week or so, it's almost like she's back to normal. I can't explain it at all!"

Yui gaze lifted. Her left eyebrow was cocked in confusion. "You didn't hear? She didn't tell you?" she asked.

"Tell me what?"

"Well, Konata's dad is remarrying."

Both Nanako and Sawako's jaw almost literally dropped to the table's surface. "No way!" the former exclaimed. "I had no idea!"

"Yeah, and you'll never guess who the fiancé is…" The married couple leaned forward in anticipation. "It actually the mother of one of her friends: Yukari Takara."

This time the two really did do a double take. "Miyuki's mom?" Sawako yelled, causing people sitting nearly to look over. "We were just visiting their house not a week ago! Now that I think about it, she wasn't there that night."

Yui rolled her eyes at this. "Not surprised," she commented sardonically, taking a sip of her coffee. "Those two have been inseparable ever since their first date. Hell, they're pushing to get married within a _month_. That's why Konata has been feeling better recently."

"Wow. I never would have thought those two would get engaged, not in a hundred years… B-But before that, what was Konata depressed about this whole time?"

Again, Yui eyes lowered to her drink. They showed worry once more. "It's been over a week since Sōjirō told me these stories and I still have trouble believing them. There are a few parts to it, actually, but I'll start with Konata… Oh God, it's so damn crazy."

"Is it that bad?"

"It really is." She paused and took a moment to regain her composure before she spoke what would probably the first of many bombshells that night. "K-Konata… She came out of the closet, not long ago."

Yui looked back up to witness the other's reactions. Sawako's, surprisingly, was the more expressive, gasping a "My God…" She looked to her right to see Nanako's reaction as well. And while the blonde did look shocked, it was not as much as one would think. "Nanako? Aren't you surprised?"

"W-Well of course I am!" she replied. What her facial expression lacked was made up for in voice. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just you don't look too surprised."

The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well…" she drew out, "I'd be lying if I didn't have a _slight_ suspicion that she was a bit 'yuri'."

"Hey!" Yui suddenly snapped. "What's that suppose to mean? You telling me you thought my little cousin was queer all this time and you said nothing?"

"N-No, no no, that's not what I meant at all! I-I meant that, well, she always does perverted jokes, usually toward her friend Kagami." The other's eyes opened slightly at the mention of Kagami's name. "Granted she probably means none of it when she does it, but sometimes it really seems like she's serious. Sometimes it's hard to tell."

Thankfully, the officer seemed to cool down from the other's explanation. "Hmm, I guess you got a point there. I'll admit sometimes she doesn't know when to quit- Hold on, we're getting off track here."

"Right… So, uh, h-how did this come about?"

Yui proceeded to detail everything Sōjirō had told her, which in turn was what Konata told him. "Well, she said it began in that airsoft thing you guys did a while ago." Both Sawako and Nanako felt a chill shoot up their spines. "I guess the two got into hand-to-hand and Ritsu, in order to get close and distract Konata long enough to pull the pins of her own grenades, pinned her to the ground and, well, _kissed_ her…" She then continued to tell the entire story, accounting the teaching sessions Konata and Ritsu had that eventually lead to the former's heartbreak.

When she finally seemed to halt in her reiteration, Nanako was the first of the two to speak. Her voice was noticeably shaken. "… I… I don't believe it," she whispered. "All of this was happening and- I-I tried to help Konata out but she kept refusing. I never would have guessed her problem would be this serious."

"Y-Yeah," Sawako agreed, her voice just as affected. "Jesus, I had no idea at all that Ritsu was- That she and Mio have been- I must be the worst teacher in the world that I didn't notice this happening."

Out of Yui's sight, Nanako reached over to Sawako's lap and squeezed one of her hands. "We've _both_ been blind. I'm as much to blame for this as well. I should have kept pressing into Konata until she finally told me what was wrong. I shouldn't have given up when I did."

"And that's merely half of what she's gone through," Yui added. "I'm surprised how strong she has been, what with what happened with the Hiiragi sisters."

"_Huh_?" Nanako shot back. "What do you mean, what's going on with them?"

Again, Yui paused from apprehension. "Well, it seems like they are have the same kind of difficulties that Konata is having."

"O-Oh my- You mean that they are-?"

"With _each other_."

"... Oh Jesus…" Kuroi's hand suddenly lifted up. "One coffee here!" she called out.

"Make that two!" Sawako added, lifting up one of her hands as well.

"Told you you'd change your mind," Yui remarked. She continued after the two were served their drinks. "According to Konata, the two of them came out to their family saying that they loved each other. And apparently, their mother got furious and kicked them out. They stayed at Konata's house for three days before then living with Miyuki. They've been there ever since and are still there right now."

Nanako, someone who normally drank her coffee with lots of cream and sugar, chugged the mug down black, muck to her wife's surprise. "So Kagami and Tsukasa," the blonde said, "are both lesbians as well? How did _that_ happen-?" Yui averted her gaze for a split second. "Oh jeez, don't tell me it was from the same thing!"

"… It was."

"… Sawako?" she then asked the person next to her. "I think we're a bad influence on our students."

"Wha-?" Sawako exclaimed back. "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Sawako. We dragged them into that battle, that stupid fight we had! If we never did, these things would have never-"

"_NO_, Nanako, don't think that!" she suddenly interrupted. "It's better that it happened the way it did!"

"Y-You think so?"

"I _know_ so. If not, they might have never known this side of themselves."

"But how do you know this is _really_ who they are? Maybe we influenced them somehow into-"

"You're wrong!" Sawako pivoted herself in her seat to face Nanako directly. "We didn't do anything to them. If anything, we _helped_ them. Inadvertently, yes, but somehow we helped." Even after Sawako's words, Nanako's face showed uncertainty. "*Sigh* You said it yourself in the past, Nanako: 'You can't become gay. You're either born it or not.' You're just contradicting yourself right now by saying otherwise."

"But I can't help but feel we're responsible for this. For _all_ of this!"

"Damnit- Ok, fine, let's just assume that we _are_, ok? What are we going to do then?"

"I-I… I'm not su-"

"We're going to _help_ them, that's what! Whether we're the cause or not, these are our students we're talking about, and right now, they're in pain. We're going to do something, one way or the other."

"Sawako…"

"Now, how to go about solving this… Maybe divide and conquer?" Nanako raised an eyebrow. "I mean one of us helps out Konata while the other helps out the Hiiragis. Sound good to you?" She nodded. "Ok, then I'll meet up with the sisters tomorrow and we'll-"

"No," Nanako interrupted. "I'll help out Tsukasa and Kagami. They're both my students, and Konata's problem involves Ritsu, one of yours. I think it'd be better that way."

"Hmm, good point. Ok, so tomorrow we'll-" The brunette stopped when both she and Nanako became aware of the crying on just the other side of their table. They both turned back to face Yui, who was wiping a tear or two from her right cheek. "… Yui?" Nanako cautiously asked. "What's wrong?"

She sniffled for a split moment before she replied. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, "it's just sort of moving watching you two. You both seem so eager to help out my little cousin and her friends."

Nanako grinned back. "Well, we have them to thank for a lot of things. Without them, there might not have been an-" She glanced at Sawako. "- _us_."

"Wow. I guess I never thought about that… I guess it's nice to see young couples that still love each other. Most young marriages at our age usually end early. Luckily, we've both seem to hold onto ours."

"Hmm, yeah, you're ri- Wait. Yui, you're married?"

"Uh… Yeah, I am. What, you didn't know that?"

Suddenly Nanako turned back to Sawako and the two began to go back and forth, leaving Yui completely out of the conversation, as if she were not even there. "See!" Nanako began. "I _told_ you she was married."

"What? You told me nothing!" Sawako said back. "You said you _thought_ she was married."

"Well whatever the case we now know for sure. She's married, so we can't ask her. Damnit, I was looking forward to it, too."

"Yeah, I know what you- Wait. Maybe we _can_ still ask her."

"_Huh?_ Are you crazy? What about her husband?"

"If we get his permission-"

*Ahem* Yui cleared her throat. She caught the other two's attention, bringing their conversation to a halt. "Uh… What's going on here?" Yui asked. "What are you two talking about?"

Again, Nanako looked to her wife. "You really think we should still ask?" she asked.

"Go ahead. No harm in asking, I figure," Sawako answered

"Ok…" She looked back to Yui, who was showing slightly more confusion in her expression. "Well, Yui, originally Sawako and I thought that you were single, and if that _was_ the case, we were going to… well, invite you to… have a bit of _fun_." A mischievous, fanged grin curled in the right side of her mouth as she said that last word.

"… Fun?" Yui repeated. "What do you mean…?" She already has a pretty good idea what she was about to be asked, but she needed to hear it from the horse's mouth.

Sawako grinned as well. "Oh you know," Nanako continued, leaning forward slightly. "Just a simple evening: dinner, some drink, and a night of… _fun_." She gave the person sitting opposite a wink.

Yui's face turned as red as the seats she was sitting on. "O-Oh my…" she initially stammered. "I-I-I'm not sure how to- Y-You guys would really want to? With _me_?"

"Of course," Sawako confirmed. "This was Nanako's idea, initially. After you called she asked if I was up for it and I said 'Sure.' Of course we thought you were single at the time."

"O-Oh…" She turned to Nanako, who was still smiling at her. "So, this was your idea, Nanako?" She nodded back. "But… Why _me_?"

"He he, isn't it obvious? I always thought you were kinda cute, Yui. Heck, that was part of the reason I agreed to do that beach trip with the girls last year: because you agreed to go as well."

"Oh. I-Is that so… Wait a sec. When we were both in the bathhouse, I remember you asking me something like "I wonder what people think of us seeing us together' and when I answered with something like 'Probably cousins' you gave this weird look, almost like you were disappointed."

"I did-? Oh yeah! I remember that. Ha ha, man, I can't believe you remembered that."

"W-Well, it seems just so weird at the time, but now… Were you trying to hit on me then?"

It was now Nanako's turn to be embarrassed. "Oh jeez, yeah. Man, I feel like such a goof thinking about it. You see, Yui, that was about the time when me and Sawako started drifting apart after graduation. It wasn't like we didn't like each other anymore, we just got caught up in our own things, one thing led to another, and we kinda stopped seeing each other.

Anyway, around the time of the beach trip, I was feeling down on myself. Heck, you could say I was a bit lonely, so when I heard you were tagging along, I thought I'd give you a try. Hehe, but I guess my attempts were pretty lame, right? You didn't even get the hint."

"Hmm, I guess not- But hold on. So right now, you and Sawako are asking if I want to- _do it_ with you two?"

"Basically," Sawako answered, giving a shrug of her shoulders.

"I-I see. Well, I'm flattered by the offer, you guys, and I'm flattered you think I'm cute, Nanako, but I'm pretty sure my husband wouldn't allow me to do it."

"Well, why don't you ask him? Is he home right now?"

"Well, he is, but- Uh, what do expect me to say! 'Hey honey, can I cheat on you with two other women?'"

"Hey, if he says it's ok, it's not _really_ cheating, is it?"

"I-I don't know-"

Nanako chimed in. "Oh come on, go ahead and ask. Give him a ring right now and ask. We'll wait here."

"U-Uh… *Sigh* Ok, I'll ask, but don't get your hopes up. Excuse me." Yui got up from the table and stepped outside. The married couple glanced out the window to their right and watched as the officer got into her car before getting out her cellphone and calling up her husband.

"… Hey, Nanako," Sawako asked in Yui absence, "I just had a thought: What if her husband wants in as well? Would you agree to it? I mean, you've never had sex with a guy before and-"

"I'm aware," Kuroi interrupted. "But I'm not sure if I would. He doesn't _have_ to have sex with either of us, you know. It can just be with Yui."

"Hmm, good point. But what if he asks?"

"Then… I think I'd have to refuse. Sorry, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable doing it."

"Don't be sorry, because honestly I don't think I would either." A few minutes passed and Yui returned inside the dinner, taking her seat. "So, Yui, what's the verdict?"

She paused before giving her head a shake. "Sorry, but he said 'No.'"

"I see. I hope he didn't get mad or anything."

"Oh no, he didn't. I've told him about you two- I mean that in a good way- and he seemed to understand what you two were asking. But he still refused."

"Hmm… Well, maybe it was for the best. Nanako and I would feel terrible if we caused a split between you two."

"I don't think he'll get angry. We love each other very much, so I think he knew it was meant to be a one-night thing… Besides- and don't take this the wrong way- he keeps me _plenty_ stimulated as it is."

The other's eyes shot open. "Oh?" Nanako said back, grinning once again. "That so?"

"_Oh_ yeah," she laughed. "He may be away with work most of the time, but when he does come back, we make up for the time apart, believe you me."

The three of them laughed, and with the mood lifted, the three talked together as good friends should, the topic changing more times than one would bother taking count for. The small diner was empty when the three finally left. By that time the three were feeling much better. Both Sawako and Nanako were grateful for this, given that not too long earlier they had been struck with such awful news. But at the same time the two worried, both of them unsure how to go about solving their friend's dilemmas.

-o0o-

Sometime during the evening of the next day, a certain brunette approached the door to the Izumi household. Inside, Sōjirō and Yukari were sitting in the living room, a number of catalogues spread open on a table, the pages displaying many different types of flower arrangements. Yukari had had Sōjirō by her side looking through the pages for the last twenty minutes, and so far, it seemed that none of the choices were appeasing the woman.

"Well, how about _this_ one," Sōjirō suggested, pointing to another arrangement of red and white flowers.

"Hmm, no no, that won't do," Yukari answered. As expected. While the both of them opted for a small wedding ceremony, Yukari insisted on a big party afterward. All of the Izumi and Takara family would be there, so major preparations needed to be made. Thus far, it seemed they were still stuck on floral dilemmas.

"Um, honey?" Sōjirō said, "Do you really need my help in this? I mean, we still need to call up the catering services, the band needs to be booked, and-"

"No, we have to do this _together~!_" she whined.

"… Yes, dear." Try as he might, the man was helpless against the pleas of a beautiful woman, especially one he was about to marry. The two went back to the catalogs, but it wasn't long before the doorbell rang. Sōjirō immediately got up and answered. Anything to stop looking at flowers at this point felt like a godsend.

Upon opening the door the man had to force himself not to double-take when he saw just who it was standing on the other side. "Y-Yamanaka-san?" he greeted.

"Hello," she greeted back, smiling and giving a polite bow. "Sorry to come so abruptly. I wasn't sure you were home or not."

"O-Oh, I see. Well, this _is_ rather abrupt. Uh, why have you come?"

"Oh, I'm here to see Konata."

"Konata? But why-?"

"Sōjirō, hun!" Yukari's voice called out from within the room, followed shortly after by her entering the front door's hallway. Immediately her eyes fell upon Sawako and then to her future husband. She glared an icy look at Sōjirō. "And _who_ is _this_?" she nearly seethed.

"O-Oh, i-it's not how it looks, I assure you! This is Sawako Yamanaka. I think I remember mentioning her to you before."

"And you must be Yukari Takara," said Sawako, "Miyuki's mother, right?"

Yukari's glare lifted as she began to remember. "Oh yes," she smiled. "How silly of me, I remember you now. For a second there, I thought you were here to steal my husband away."

Sōjirō instantly began to sweat. "Ah-! Y-You see," he quickly began to explain to Sawako, "she didn't _really_ mean husband. I mean she did, but we're not, not yet, I mean that is to say-"

"Sōjirō," Sawako interrupted, cutting the other's ramblings off. "Relax. I already know you two are marrying. Your niece, Yui, told me all about it. Congratulations"

"O-Oh, thank you… She told you, did she?"

"Yes… among other things… She actually told me about the little _problem_ Konata had not too long ago. That's why I'm here now: to help Konata out."

"You are? But how?"

"Actually, I'd much rather keep it between her and I. I know that sounds a bit out to ask, but I assure you she'll be fine and, with any luck, she'll be back to her normal self soon. You have my word." This raised an eyebrow from Sōjirō, but regardless he gave the woman back a weary nod. "Is, uh, Konata home right now?"

"Oh, yes. She's up in her room with Yutaka."

"Ok, thank you. And good luck with the wedding, you two." With one more bow Sawako entered the home and made her way upstairs. Not knowing what door was Konata's, she listened until she heard the girl's voice. When she finally did she approached the door and knocked on it thrice.

"Yes?" said Konata's voice from the other side.

"Hello, it's me," Sawako answered back.

"… Yukari?"

"Guess again."

"… Santa?"

"Wha-? No, you smart ass. It's me, Sawako!"

The door unlocked and opened a moment later with Konata answering. "Sawa-chan?" she said. "What are you doing here?" From behind her, Yutaka sat in front of Konata's computer. She turned herself around and poked her curious eyes out from behind the headrest.

"Hey there, Konata. Hello, Yutaka, was it?"

The pinked-haired girl shot up and made sure to give the woman a polite bow. "G-Good evening, Yamanaka-san."

"Hi there." He looked back to the bluenette. "Konata, we need to talk."

"Uh, about what?"

"I think you know already." It took Konata a second or two, but her eyes softened with realization. "I'd like to talk about this right now… _alone_. That means you have to leave, Yutaka."

"O-Oh?" she sounded back. "Onee-chan, is that ok?"

"Hmm," replied Konata. "I'll be fine, Yu-chan." Hesitantly, Yutaka nodded and left Konata's room for her own. Sawako shut the door after Yutaka, leaving herself and Konata alone. "Well, there's not much to sit on besides the bed," Konata offered, gesturing to it.

"That's ok, I'll stand." The girl nodded at this and decided to sit herself. "Ok… Nanako and I met with your cousin Yui last night. She basically told us everything."

"O-Oh, she did…? I'm guessing dad told her, right?" Sawako nodded. "I figured he would blab sooner or later… So, you want to… help me?"

"That's right."

"But how could you possibly-?"

"We're going to win Ritsu back."

"W-_What?_ Are you nuts!"

"No, Konata, I'm not." Sawako ended up taking a seat to Konata's left on the edge of the bed. "It's obvious you've been through a lot, but… Konata, what were you _thinking_?" The girl looked back with a confused look. "You were helping Ritsu confess to Mio but you fell in love with Ritsu instead. Why the hell didn't you just tell her!"

"I-I… I just wanted to help her out. She really wanted to tell Mio how she felt, so-"

"But you ended up saying nothing and look where you are now. You're miserable, I can tell! *Sigh* Look, Konata, Ritsu… She gets single-minded sometimes, not to mention stubborn, and to get something through her skull, you need to be blunt." She paused. "Konata… Do you want Ritsu back?"

She seemed hesitant to answer. "I-I don't know-"

"Damnit, now's not the time to be modest, Konata. Answer me straight: do you want her back?"

"But she and Mio are-"

"_Fuck_ Mio!" The girl flinched at the expletive. "This isn't about her! It's about _you_ and _Ritsu_. Now, one last time: Do. You. Want. Ritsu. Back?"

Tears suddenly burst forth from the blunette's eyes. After a couple of sobs she fell toward Sawako and buried her face into the other's chest, bringing her arms around for a hug. Her muffled voice finally told the truth. "Yes!" she screamed. "Damnit _yes_! I want Ritsu back!" Sawako embraced Konata back, moved by both her honesty and how real her cried felt. There was real pain behind them. "I've been a giant idiot," Izumi continued. "You're right, Sawa-chan. I should have just told her! B-But it's too late now."

"No, Konata, it's not too late." Sawako let go of Konata, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her away enough for them to look each other in the eye. "Remember, I'm here to help you get her back. I'm not giving up until she's yours. I give you my word."

Konata took a moment to wipe the water from her eyes before a smile materialized on her lips. "… Thanks. But, how are we going to do it?"

"Well, this might be a bit extreme, but here's the plan…"

-o0o-

On this same day, Nanako approached a different home: the one of Miyuki Takara. She rang the doorbell expecting Yukari to answer, but instead was met by her daughter. She greeted the older woman with the same sort of politeness one would expect.

"Good evening, Kuroi-san," Miyuki greeted with a bow. "Mother didn't tell me you were stopping by."

"Well don't worry," Nanako reassured. "I'll try to stay out of your hair. I'm actually here to see Kagami and Tsukasa."

"Oh? Well, both Kagami-san and Tsukasa-san are out currently. I believe they said they would return about an hour from now, so-"

"I guess I'll have to wait then. You don't mind, do you?"

"Ah- No, Kuroi-san, of course not, but might I ask what this visit is for?"

As Nanako entered the home and removed her shoes, she explained "I'm going to help the two with their family issues."

"… Oh, I see. Well, please, make yourself at home." Nanako nodded and followed Miyuki into the living room. "Mother isn't home at the moment. She's…" She paused. "Well, she's out as well."

The blond grinned back. "Sorry, Miyuki, but the secret's out. I know Yukari and Sōjirō are getting married. You must be excited."

"Oh, you know!… Well, yes, of course I am. Mother has never been so happy. How did you find out about it, Kuroi-san?"

"Well, Sawako and I met with Konata's cousin, Yui, and she explained pretty much everything that's been happening right beneath our noses. Sawako's actually at Konata's house right now helping her out."

"Hmm. Well, again, make yourself comfortable. If you would like anything to drink or eat, I'd be happy to-"

"Yuki-chan~!" Tsumugi's voice cried from the top of the nearby stairwell. "I can't find my clothes. Where did you put them~?"

Nanako's eyes widened as she looked back to Miyuki, who looked as embarrassed as could be. "… E-Excuse me for a moment," she whispered, desperately trying to sound calm. She turned and jogged out of the room in a huff.

Nanako merely laughed to herself as she sat down on one of the sofas and waited for the lavender-haired sisters to arrive. The woman did not need to wait a full hour, but instead, fifty-eight minutes. At that time the front door opened and she heard the two's voices enter and exchange conversation.

As they made it toward the stairs, Nanako snuck over back into the main room and behind the two. She kept quiet and stealthily walked ever closer until she finally uttered a loud "Hiya!"

The sisters yelped from fright as they spun themselves around. "K-Kuroi-sensei!" Tsukasa exclaimed. "W-What are you doing here!"

"Hello there, you two. Sorry for the scare, but I got bored out of my mind waiting for you guys to show up and I needed to do something to wake me up. Anyway, onto business… Kagami, Tsukasa, I just heard about your little- actually, it's a pretty _big_ problem, isn't it."

"Problem?" Kagami repeated.

"Yes, Kagami, and I do mean _that_ problem. I know all about it now, and while I can't completely condone something like this between two _sisters_, I think it's terrible how your family threw you guys out."

While Tsukasa seemed to turn silent and sink her head down into her shoulders, Kagami replied "Well, it's wasn't all of the family, actually. Just mom, pretty much."

"But everyone else just let it happen, right? I don't see a difference in that kind of situation."

"But it's not like they don't care about us. They _do_! We actually talk to dad and the others often… Dad… Dad actually left after the night mom kicked us out."

"O-Oh my God… They _divorced_?"

"Oh, no no, they didn't do _that_, but he and Matsuri left after that night. They were both furious. Dad has been staying in a hotel room while Matsuri has been over a few friends' houses."

"What about… Inori, was it?"

Kagami nodded. "She stayed at home with mom, but she's been arguing with her a lot about changing her mind. She's been unsuccessful so far."

"Oh shit. This seems worse than I thought… Ok, that settles it. Girls, we're heading over back to your house _tomorrow_, and I will personally make sure that you are back in your home by the end of the day."

"_What?_ How are you going to do that!"

"I… I don't know. Heck, I've never actually met your mother before, so I really don't know what kind of person she is." When events such as parent-teacher conferences came around, Tadao Hiiragi was always the one to attend. Miki never went, but only for unavoidable reasons such as "Work had me stay late" or "Was sick and didn't want to spread it." "But I'll think of something when the time comes. Don't worry," Nanako reassured.

"You think that's a good idea?" Kagami warned.

"Hey, I've been able to bust out solutions on a dime in the past. What could go wrong?"


	8. Conflict Resolution

Chapter 8

_Stop by my house two days from now. We'll discuss our plan of attack there._

As the commuter rail went along its way down the track, Konata reread the text message stored in her cell phone. She had received it from Sawako the day after the teacher made her sudden visited to the Izumi residence, which was now already two days in the past.

Thus far, Konata still had not a single clue as to what Sawako had planned. She had her speculations, of course, but nothing to draw a real conclusion toward. Each possibility seemed to worry her more and more. But before such feelings got the better of her, she shook her self awake and pocked the device.

"_Maybe I should just head back now._" She had had a bad feeling since she had woken up that morning. "_No. No, I shouldn't. Sawa-chan will be expecting me to show, and if I don't, I'll never hear the end of it. Plus, I'm trying to get through this, and running away won't solve anything._"

The forty minute ride to Sakura felt longer than it should, and the thirteen minute walk from there to the Sawako/Kuroi residence seemed even longer. Each step felt heavier and heavier, but eventually she reached the front step of the Kuroi/Yamanaka household.

Sawako answered the doorbell a minute or two after Konata rang it. "Great, you're here!" she said upon opening the door.

"Thank you for having me over," Konata replied, given the older woman a bow, "and for helping me out. Is sensei here?"

"Nanako? Nah, she's off tonight on… school business. Well, come on in. I made tea."

"_Sawako's being really… nice._" Konata thought. "_This isn't exactly the same kind of teacher the members of Houkago Tea Time talked about before. Maybe she's being extra kind given the circumstances?_"

Konata entered the home and followed Sawako into its kitchen, where she poured tea for the both of them. They sat down at the kitchen table before the brunette got down to business. "Ok, Konata, I'm going to be blunt with you, ok?" From what she had heard about Konata from Nanako, being blunt was perhaps the best thing.

Konata nodded. "Sure."

"How badly do you want Ritsu back?"

She took a deep, apprehensive breath in before replying "A lot."

"And would you be willing to do anything to get her back?"

"Uh, well, _anything's_ a pretty broad term-" She halted when she noticed Sawako glaring. "- But _just about_ anything, sure."

The glare then vanished, replaced with a grin. "Good. That's all I need to hear. Follow me upstairs then. We'll discuss our plan of attack there."

Konata wondered why they could not do it where they were but said nothing on the thought. She left her mug of tea on the table and followed the older woman upstairs, to a door at the end of a short hallway. Konata entered the room first and her eyes immediately fell upon the expensive gaming computer tucked away under a window in the far right corner. Only when she glanced to the left and noticed the king sized bed did she realize that she had been led into Sawako's bedroom.

"Why did you bring me here?" Konata finally asked. "Couldn't we have talked downst-?" _*Slam* _A loud noise from behind Konata caused her to jump. She spun around to see that the door had been slammed shut with Sawako standing on the other side. The bang was followed shortly after by the click of the lock.

"What the- Sawako? What are you doing?"

The woman's muffled voice sounded from the other side. "_Sorry, Konata, but this is the only way you'll go willingly."_

"What are you talking abo-?" She stopped short when she heard another sound: the sound of the door to the bed's left- the one that led to the master bedroom's bathroom- opening. Konata turned just in time to see a girl with a yellow headband step out.

"Hey," said Ritsu, "what's with all the noi-?" She stopped as well when she noticed the bluenette in the room. "Konata?"

"R-Ritsu!" the other stuttered. This was not how Konata imagined things going, not at all. It was too much and too soon. Though in the back of her head she knew she would be ruining her chance of getting better, in that moment, Konata wanted nothing more than to get out of that room.

She made for the door and grasped the doorknob, only to find it firmly locked. "Come on, Sawa-chan, this isn't funny. Let me out!" she pleaded.

"_This is for your own good, Konata. You're not leaving until you set things straight with Ritsu._" From the other side, Sawako stood with her back leaned against the door. Her plan to get Konata and Ritsu in the same place worked out better than she had imagined. Just as the front doorbell rang, Ritsu- who had come by earlier that day- had asked to excuses herself for the bathroom. Sawako told her to use the upstairs one with a lie that the downstairs one was in disrepair. She also made the off-hand comment that it was probably Nanako at the door, just to ward help off any suspicion Ritsu might have had.

Sawako heaved a heavy but quiet sigh. She whispered to herself "I hope this all goes well…"

Back inside the room, Ritsu was the first to question things. "So wait, Sawa-chan invited you over as well?"

Konata hesitated with her answer. "E-Eh…" Again she looked back to the door. "Sawako-?"

"_Stop wasting time and tell her_."

"Tell me what?" Ritsu asked. "What's going on here, Konata?"

Konata swallowed what pride she had left before turning back to Ritsu. "… Ricchan," she began. "I… I don't want you see Mio anymore."

"H-Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I- I mean that- Damnit-… I want you to see _me_." Her choice of words were as stilted as the way they were spoken. But she was getting her message across nonetheless, though it took Ritsu a second to understand.

"What are you talking about?" she repeated.

"Damnit, Ritsu, don't you get it. I… I love _you_!" She blurted her truth rather quickly, so much so that it took Ritsu another second's time to comprehend. When she did, her eyes widened.

"Wha-?" she initially drew out. "I-Is this another test or some-" The drummer halted when, after reading Konata's expression some more, she realized that this was no test. "Oh my God… B-But if you _do_, why were you trying to help me get close to Mio?"

"I-I didn't figure it out until we started hanging out, when we did our lessons." Konata found it odd that she was still calling her time with Ritsu their "lessons." "A-And after all those things we did together…"

Both the girl's faces began to blush intensely. Ritsu pushed through the embarrassment as best she could to speak further. "Uh, Konata, I-I think you might be confusing sex with love."

At this, Konata's jaw dropped open with disbelief, unable to believe how cold her outcries were being received. "W- But how can you say that! You said you were willing to learn, to go down on my-"

"L-Look, I know what we did! … I'm sorry, Konata, but this is just so confusing. You helped me win over Mio, and now that we're together, you tell me you loved me the whole time and never said anything? Why _didn't_ you say anything, Konata?"

At this, Konata, by instinct, lowered her gaze. She knew the question would arise and she hated the only true answer she could give. "I… wasn't thinking. I- I got so caught up in helping you that I… forgot myself. I was stupid. So very, very stupid…"

Ritsu now looked as befuddled as could be. "This- This is _insane_. I…" She took a step back and reached her right hand to her forehead, whipping away a small bead of sweat. "I need to think about this. I… I'm going back home." She turned and made for the door.

"Ricchan…" Konata's use of the nickname caused Ritsu to pause for split second, but failed to stop her completely. She reached for the knob only to quickly remember that the door had been locked. "Sawa-chan, please…" her now drained voice said.

The door clicked and opened a moment later. Ritsu didn't give Sawako a single glance as she walked by her and toward the stairs, only keeping her eyesight straight in front of her. Sawako waited until Ritsu was about halfway down the steps before going into the bedroom for Konata.

She tentatively approached the bluenette and bend down onto her knees, meeting the other at eye level. "Hey…" she said softly. "You doing ok?"

Konata gave back a single nod. "She… I don't think she believed me, Sawa-chan…"

"No. I think she just needs a bit of time to think this over… You going to be fine?" Again the girl nodded back. "Come back downstairs, there's still some tea if you want some." Again Konata nodded before walking toward the door. Before she passed through, though, she stopped and told Sawako "That was a really dirty trick you pulled, Sawa-chan."

"Sorry," the woman apologized.

"No… Thanks. I think a good kick to the ass was what I needed."

Sawako couldn't help but grin. "I'll be down in just a minute…"

Sawako again waited until Konata had ventured far enough down the stairs before springing into action. She quickly entered her room, shut the door behind her, and walked over to the computer. Unbeknownst to Konata and Ritsu, the computer had been turned on throughout their entire exchange. And what's more is that another person was watching in.

"_If you thought that was underhanded_," the brunette thought to herself, "_you don't know the **half** of it_."

Sawako put on the headset sitting on the stool before turning on the monitor. A few seconds past before it lit up and showed the feed of a webcam with a picture-in-picture image of herself in the bottom left corner. The window showed what looked like another bedroom but no one else could be seen in it.

"Hey, Mio, you there?" Sawako asked. She received no response. "Mio?"

"… I'm here." The girl's voice sounded off camera. Furthermore, it sounded rather shaken.

"Move in front of the camera so I can see you." A few seconds later the raven-haired girl appeared. Her eyes were cast downward, seemingly toward the keyboard. "Did you see everything?"

"Y-Yeah… Oh my God…" It seemed to be, at the moment, the extent of her verbal emotions.

"Sorry you had to see that, but I thought it would be best if you found out."

"No, i-it's ok… Thank you, for showing me."

Sawako nodded back. "… What are you going to do now, Mio?"

"… I think I know what to do… See you in school, Sawa-chan."

"Ok… See ya." Mio cut the camera feed, rendering the video window black. Sawako took a moment to give a few deep sighs before finally turning her computer off. She wondered if she had done the right thing, making such an underhanded move by having Mio secretly watch in. She rationalized that, if she hadn't, the problem might have never been solved.

"I just hope Mio knows what to do now…" Sawako headed back downstairs, where Konata was already sitting at the kitchen table, a mug from before sitting in front of her. The two spent a few silent moments merely sitting opposite each other, sipping their drinks. Eventually, Konata had settled herself down enough to where she felt she could get back home on her own. She made sure to thank Sawako once more for the help she gave.

After Konata had left, Sawako poured herself another cup of tea and awaited the return of her wife, who had set off for the Hiiragi residence an hour before Ritsu had stopped by. She briefly wondered if Nanako was dealing with similar stresses…

-o0o-

Ritsu gave neither "Tadaima" nor any sort of greeting upon returning home that evening. Her mind was weighed down heavily with the previous events. After removing her shoes, she made a b-line to the kitchen and refrigerator, where she retrieved a bottle of water for herself. Then, as she made her way toward the living room, she became aware of the sounds of the television. She assumed Satoshi was there but still asked "Sato? You there?"

He was, but Ritsu did not make it through the threshold before her little brother called out "Don't come in here!"

Ritsu stopped in her tracks. "Huh? Why not?"

"J-Just don't come in here!"

"… Satoshi, what are you doing in there?"

"N-Nothing…"

"Well, if you're doing nothing, why can't I come in?" She received in reply only silence. "… Misao's in there with you, isn't she?" Again, silence. "Misao?"

The girl's voice called back an embarrassed "… Hi."

The drummer sighed. "Jesus Christ… Fine, just- I don't know- W-whatever." She had not the energy, drive, nor the will to deal with whatever was occurring in the next room, so Ritsu turned back around and sat down at the kitchen table. This turned out to be a better place to be because she needed a place to simply think, and this room seemed quieter.

Only a few minutes passed before Satoshi and Misao walked to the front door together, where they shared a few more moments saying their personal goodbyes before the latter took her leave. Once gone, Satoshi entered the kitchen and retrieved a drink of his own from the fridge. He was glaring at his sister out of the corner of his eyes.

"I can see you glaring at me, shrimp," Ritsu threatened.

"Good… I thought you were going to be out for _longer_…"

"Aww, what's the matter? Give you blue balls, did I?"

The boy blushed a furious red as he said a stuttered "S-Shut up…" back. "S-So, you were at Sawa-chan's house, right?" Ritsu nodded back. "So what did you two do?"

For a moment, Ritsu considered not telling Satoshi about what happened, but then she remembered how he kept his promise in the past. He remained silent when he found about her and Konata's original "yuri zone expansion lessons." In fact, he was _still_ keeping the secret from their mom and dad. Loyalty of that level deserved an explanation of the current situation, Ritsu concluded.

"Well, actually-"

A knock came at the door before Ritsu could explain further. Satoshi assumed aloud that it "Must be Misao" and went to answer. A few seconds later he called out to his sister "Nee-chan, Mio wants to see you."

"_Mio?_" Ritsu checked the time on her mobile. "_It's not terribly late, but she never usually stops by around this time_." She got up and went to the door to see that indeed Mio was there waiting for her. Before she could give any kind of greeting, Ritsu was suddenly grabbed by a wrist and pulled outside, not given time to put back on her shoes.

Mio pulled the girl out the door, off the front porch, across the lawn, and right to the end of the driveway, putting the two well out of earshot of the on looking Satoshi (though he could still watch from a distance.) When the two finally came to a stop, Mio whipped around and gave what was perhaps the most intense glare she had ever given Ritsu in her life. It was enough to cause the girl Tainaka to take half a step back.

"How could you do that to her!" Mio started off, promptly rearing her left hand back and striking the other across the cheek.

"_Ouch_… H-Huh?" Ritsu said back, clutching her newly formed wound. "What are you ta-?"

"Konata! Y-You- You fucking _used her_! Used her to get to _me_!"

Ritsu yelped from surprise. "Wha-! I- What are you-?"

"I saw everything that happened at Sawa-chan's today. I. Saw. _Everything_."

"But how could you have even seen that?" Ritsu thought back to the room she and Konata had been in and realized a how this could have been possible. "The computer! I thought those lights meant it was in sleep mode or something- You were watching through the webcam, weren't you!"

"How could you do that to someone, Ritsu? She really loves you and you ignored her!"

"S-She wanted to help me get close to you, and she's never really hinted that she actually liked me-"

"How fucking dense _are you_?" Tiny tear droplets were beginning to form in the corners of both her eyes. "So what, am I some prize for you or something? It doesn't matter who gets hurt, so long as you get what you want, huh? I-I'm am so angry at you that…" Anything further she attempted to say was too choked up by tears to understand.

"Mio… I-"

"No!" Mio interrupted, regaining her speech. "You can't talk your way out of this, Ritsu… We're _done_." Mio, without another moment's hesitation, spun around and began to walk down the street in the direction of her house. But before she walked out of earshot of Ritsu, she gave one final command.

"Please, Ritsu… Do the right thing."

For the longest time, Ritsu remained unmoved from her spot at the end of the driveway, lightly cupping her struck face. Her feet began to grow cold standing on the asphalt. She finally moved when her brother Satoshi walked outside and over to his sister's side. "What the hell happened?" he asked.

"… Mio found out about Konata," she answered.

"Oh… _Oh_… So…?"

"She broke up with me."

"Ouch…" Satoshi felt like saying more, but simply could not think of what he could say to comfort his sister. He had no personal experience to do so with. "You, uh, going to be good?"

She replied with a silent nod and nothing more. She and Satoshi then headed back inside where, after retreating to her room, Ritsu made a very important phone call to a certain blue-haired friend.

-o0o-

During that same evening, Nanako was taking the train back to Ryoo. She had made sure to neat-up her appearance for what could possibly be a hectic ordeal. The struggle of young lesbians was something she could obviously sympathize and defend, but to have it between sisters…

The wanderings of her head made Nanako lose track of time, and before she knew it, she had arrived at the Ryoo station. Stepping off the platform, she followed sidewalks until she reached the Hiiragi residence. She remembered the route from past visits.

She took one final moment to fix her clothing and, more importantly, calm her racing thoughts before taking the final steps to the door and ringing the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened to both Kagami and Tsukasa, the latter standing behind the former.

Both their eyes widened as they said in unison the woman's name. Just then, the door opened wider revealing Tadao. "Hello, Kuroi-san," he greeted.

"Good evening," she said back, giving a bow. "Is, uh… Is she home?" It was quite obvious she was asking about the twin's mother.

Tadao nodded back. "Yes, she is, but she insists on no visitors."

"Well, no offence, Hiiragi-san, but I'm not taking 'No' for an answer in this situation." She then walked herself into the front door of the home, past Tadao, Kagami, and Tsukasa. "Where is she now?" she asked as she removed her shoes.

"In the living room," Kagami answered. "Doorway on the right."

"Ok… You two ready? Hiiragi-san?" Slowly, but surely, the sisters and their father nodded. "Ok…" Nanako paused herself to take a deep, calming breath before finally taking the final steps into the living room… But then she wished she had prepared a bit more.

Nanako recognized Miki's face the very instant she set eyes on her. She had retained a surprising amount of youthfulness since her high school, and after four kids, a slim waistline. Some women get all the luck, it seems… But this was not the time for complements. This was still the very same woman that made her younger years a living hell.

But unlike Nanako, Miki didn't seem to make the recollection just yet. The teacher noticed this and immediately took the fact to her advantage. A mischievous grin set upon her face. "Well well well… Nice to see you again," she taunted.

Miki was too angered to catch the comment. "You shouldn't be here," she shot back. "This is a family matter and it doesn't need the school's involvement. So please, leave."

"It _does_ become a school problem, Hiiragi-san, when the student's performance begins to decline. And in Kagami and Tsukasa's case, it has." This was, however, a complete and outright lie. The two's grades had not dipped in the slightest since the beginning of the entire incident; a testament to their individual strength.

"W-Well it doesn't matter! I still want you out of here. We can handle this on our own."

"Because you've got such a firm grasp on things as is…"

"Who- Who the hell do you think you are?" Miki made a sudden approach toward Nanako, placing herself within arm's reach. She stood firm and with conviction. "Poor grades or not, teacher or not, this is a private matter, so I'll ask nicely for the last time: please leave."

Unintimidated, Nanako instead began to stifle back a laugh. Not because she found Miki's display amusing, but rather the fact the lavender-haired mother still had yet to realize who Nanako was.

"And why the hell are you laughing?" Miki demanded.

"Ha ha, sorry," Nanako answered with a now straight face, "but- You really don't remember who I am, do you?"

"What? What are you ta-?"

"Well, I just figured you would remember the woman who got you expelled from Ryoko." It took all but a second for Miki to realize who stood before her: the Legendary Woman N, Nanako Kuroi. The mother's eyes suddenly widened from surprise, her mouth hung slightly agape. "_Now_ you remember, huh?"

"… Expelled?" Tadao asked. "From Ryoko? I thought you started out in Tokyo University." Miki's eyes quickly shifted to her husband, then back to Nanako. She quickly found herself in a pit of her own lie. Nanako was secretly pleased how quickly she was getting the upper hand. She had to strike now, while the iron was hot, to give the Hiiragi sister's a fighting chance at normalcy.

"Oh, so they don't know?" Nanako asked Miki. "Maybe I should tell them _how_ you-"

"Stop, don't!" Miki exclaimed. "They don't need to know about that."

"Well, the cat's out of the bag already, so either you listen to what I have to say and you can explain things later, or I can tell them _all_ the details right now."

Miki opened her mouth to protest but quickly found she was without words. She had been knocked down to the lowest peg before she even realized she was there. Miki finally gave a defeated breath before replying "Fine. Ask what you must."

Nanako grinned back. "Ok then… Let's take a walk."

-o0o-

Much to the rest of the family's confusion, they were all asked to stay inside the house as Nanako and Miki went alone for a walk around the neighborhood. Nanako knew the tension of the room would be too much for both her and Miki to discuss things in, so she thought a stroll would both ease said tension and give them alone time to talk freely.

The sun had already begun to set on that day, turning the air brisk. One could claim the faintest visibility of their own breath. Nanako and Miki strode side by side along the sidewalk, the only others out at that hour. At first they spoke nothing. They kept their eyes forward and said not a word.

The silence finally ended after five whole minutes. "So," said Nanako. "Nice to see you again, Miki _Inoue_."

The mother blinked at hearing her former surname, giving a nervous chuckle afterward. "W-Well, I'm surprised to see _you_ again, Nanako. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when you stepped in."

"So you actually _did_ recognized me?"

"Of course. I could I forget you? Legendary Woman N. Your face was only plastered on the news not long ago. That and- Well, all the things I did when I was younger…"

"But you acted as if you didn't remember who I was."

"I was pretending. I actually thought _you_ didn't recognize me."

…

Nanako decided to get down to business before the conversation got any more convoluted. "*Sigh* Ok, Miki, this whole thing needs to stop. I don't care if you don't like lesbians, but thes-"

"But I _don't_ not like lesbians," Miki quickly defended. Her reaction back was a disbelieving look on Nanako's face. "I'm serious!"

"Do you really expect me to believe that? After what happened with Kagami and Tsukasa? After the things you did to me in Ryoko?"

"Please, listen. Let me explain… After I was expelled, I realized what kind of monster I was and how much pain I put you through. I felt terrible, and I promised myself never to discriminate like that ever again." Again, Nanako looked completely unconvinced, and even began to look a bit angered. "I'm not lying to you. It's the truth."

"You _kicked them out of your house_. How the hell else am I suppose to take this as?"

"But I'm not mad about them- Ok, I'm a _bit_ mad about them being gay- but that's only part of the reason-"

Nanako suddenly stopped and halted Miki with a forceful grasp of her left shoulder. "Damnit, Miki, if you don't start making sense right now-"

"I'm angry because they're _sisters_!" This caught the blonde off guard, so much so she released her grip and took a half step back. She began to berate herself within her head for not considering this earlier.

"Sisters…" Nanako repeated, as if coming to the realization.

"_Yes_. If people found out about this I- our family would be _disgraced_. Times change, I know, and thanks to you and Sawako, Nanako, being gay is practically a status symbol."

"Uh… Not exactly how I'd word it, but thanks, I guess…"

"But i-incest…" One could tell she struggled to speak the word. "N-No, I can't allow it. I _won't. _When they both came out that day, I-I was so afraid of what would happen: What would my parents think of me? What would others think of us? Of _them_? I didn't know what to do so I just sort of reacted on impulse and-"

Miki stopped when she felt Nanako's other hand rest on her other shoulder. "Miki," said the blonde. "I know how you feel. Back when Sawako and I were still in the limelight, young woman would always approach us an tell us stories about their coming out to their friends and families, about how scared they felt and how afraid they were about what people would think of them.

It made me realize how lucky I was that things went as smoothly as they did for me. Because the sad fact is that many others don't have it so easy. And with most stories, they got through it all on one thing: support. From their lovers, friends, from family, _anyone_. And right now, Tsukasa and Kagami could use the support of their mother."

"B-But they're- They're _sisters_, Nanako. W-What am I going to do? I can't change people's viewpoints, not about something like this!"

For a moment Nanako went silent, turning her gaze to the sidewalk below her feet. "That…" she finally answered. "That's something I don't know how to solve. I'd be a lot easier if this was something that was at least _somewhat_ accepted in society, but…"

"… So," said Miki after another silence. "Are you saying I should tell them to stop?"

Nanako looked back up to face Miki. "I… I think what you should do, Miki, is be completely honest with them. First, apologize to them about what has happened." Miki nodded. "_Then_, be _honest_. Tell them exactly what they're getting themselves into and what could happen not only to them but the rest of their family and friends. Also, tell them how _you_ feel about this.

Finally, make them ask themselves this: Is what they have really worth losing everything over?"

The last question struck Miki visibly. "I see… Thank you, Nanako." She forced a frail grin on her face. "You're the last person I would have expected help from, given everything that happened between us. But thank you."

The blonde waved it off with a motion of a hand. "All water under the bridge," she dismissed. "And I'm glad to have helped out. After everything those two and their friends have done for Sawako and I, it's the least I could do."

"Well, again, thank you." Miki glanced up at the sky which had now begun to grow dark. "It's getting late. Will you be heading back?"

"No, no, I'd better get back home myself. I think you and Tadao can handle things from here… Good luck."

With a nod and one last thank you Miki turned about-face and headed back down the sidewalk toward home. Nanako watched the woman shrink into the distance for a moment or two before continuing down the sidewalk in the direction she had already been going. Her mental exhaustion finally matched her physical exhaustion by the time she reached a train station and boarded a train home.

The teacher finally returned home later that night, after the sun disappeared behind the horizon. She gave no "_tadaima_" as she stepped through the door and into her living room. Sawako was already there waiting for her with both a bottle of their favorite sake and a pair of warm arms to cradle herself into.

They spoke not a word to each other that night of what happened. No words needed to be said, for both knew they had completed exactly what they had promised, and that this entire ordeal was finally behind them.


	9. Kana

Chapter 9

_ "Something up, Sawako?"_

_ "Well, seeing all these kids, all alive with youth, it kind of makes me think."_

_ "About what?"_

_ "Well… maybe we should have one?"_

_ "A student?"_

_ "No… a child…"_

_ "No, I don't think so. I already deal with enough kids as it is. I'm not ready to live with one just yet."_

_ "That's ok. I can wait for an eternity as well."_

Except eternities are not always so long…

-o0o-

Nanako and Sawako set a blistering pace as they hurried themselves back and forth across the house. Everything needed to be checked and double checked for perfection: the house spotless, hors d'oeuvres prepared and set up, enough seating for all the guests, the upstairs bedroom prepared. Yes, everything needed to be perfect because this was a very important day for the two Legendary Women.

Today would see with it the arrival of their daughter.

The two had been hard at work since six in the previous morning and now, finally finished at noon, they gave themselves a moment to rest. They went straight for the living room, where all the accommodations were already set up and prepared, and fell backwards next to the kotatsu.

"Whew!" Nanako sounded as she stretched her arms out for perhaps the first time in many hours. "Finally, we're done!"

"Hmm," Sawako sounded back. "And we only spend practically both our paychecks to make all the damn food for this! Seriously, Nanako, was buying all that food really necessary?"

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure everything was perfect."

"Me too, but we're adopting a thirteen-year-old girl, not the next sultan. Still, I suppose we won't have to cook again for at least a day or two will all the leftovers I'm sure we'll have."

"That's the spirit! Speaking of spirits, do we have enough of those?"

"Enough to drink elephants under the table," Sawako joked. "Be sure to keep the strong stuff away from Konata and the others. I can't begin to imagine what those girls are like sauced."

"Fine, fine." At that moment, as the clock hit 12:20, the doorbell rang. "Speaking of which, that's probably them." Nanako and Sawako sprung up and answered the door. Just as Nanako predicted, it was all her former Ryoo attendees: Konata, Miyuki, and the Hiiragi sisters, now all graduated and well into their first year of university.

The wives were immediately met with the students grappling them together in a hug. It had been several months since they last saw each other, and while most of them talked from time to time through webcam and phone calls, this was their first in-person meeting since they left for university.

Catching a whiff of the prepared food, the girls almost immediately began to congregate to the living room where they all took a seat and began to munch away. "So how has everyone been at university?" Nanako asked as she took a seat, Sawako to her immediate right.

"It's been great!" Konata answered. "Thanks again for helping me get into Ryoko, Nanako. I practically became a celebrity there overnight."

"Oh?" the blonde answered.

"Yeah. People recognized my face and name from the interviews last year and BAM, instant fan girls."

"Just don't let it go to your head. You're there to study, not goof off. And no, I might not be your teacher anymore, but I'm still the boss of you."

"How does that even-?"

"So, Miyuki, how are things going with you? You got into Tokyo University, right?"

The pinkette nodded back. "Things are going well. I'm getting along with my roommate very well. I'm surprised how similar we are."

"Good to hear. Also, how are things with- Well, you know."

Miyuki blushed. It had been over a year and she still blushed when her love life was brought into question, if only just barely. "Things are fine. Mugi and I actually met up last weekend in Tokyo for a little outing."

"Hmm, good…" The blonde then turned her attention to the lavender-haired sisters. "And what about _you_ two?" she asked.

The twins shifted nervously in their seats at first, but Kagami quickly answered "We're fine, Nanako. Nothing to worry about." Unsure, the teacher turned to Miyuki, the only one here she knew was incapable of lying. The pinkette nodded and grinned back. Looking to Konata yielded the same results.

"Well, if you guys say everything is okay…" And indeed things were. On that fateful night when Nanako Kuroi visited the Hiiragi residence, Miki finally sat down and spoke with her two youngest daughters. She laid everything out on the table and left no opinion of hers unvoiced. And it seemed it all worked because afterward, Kagami and Tsukasa agreed to seek help. Six months brought with it a cure.

At least, that is what they led everyone to believe…

Before long, as everyone chipped away at the hors d'oeuvres, another ring of the doorbell came, signaling the arrival of Sawako's former students. They entered with the same enthusiasm the other students did, greeting the married couple and their friends with pleasure. With the new five's arrival, seating had officially become scarce with only one chair left amongst everyone. As everyone eventually sat themselves back down, both Sawako and Nanako looked around the room and saw that how the girls sat adjacent to each other made a very telling picture of their relationships.

Naturally, the Hiiragi sisters and Miyuki and Tsumugi sat as pairs. Ritsu, however, found herself sitting between Konata and Mio, metaphorically showing that, though Ritsu and Konata had mended their broken bond, Ritsu's mind was still subconsciously split between two people. And this left the remaining two, the sempai/kouhai relationship that was Yui and Azusa, to sit together.

"So, everyone's here now, right?" commented Yui as the festivities got back underway, her mouth half full with food.

"Not quite," Sawako answered. "We're still waiting for Nanako's parents to show. Oh, and- crap, what was her name?- Misao also." Ritsu jerked her head toward Sawako at the mention of Misao's name.

"Huh? Misao's coming?" A bewildered Kagami asked. "Did _you_ invite her, Nanako?"

"Nope," Kuroi answered. "Then again, neither did you, Kagami."

"Onee-chan! You didn't invite Kusakabe-san to the party?" Tsukasa protested.

"Hey, I didn't think she would _want_ to come! Besides, you know how Misao is." Tsukasa was still not pleased, if her puffed cheeks were any indication. "O-Ok, ok, you're right maybe I should have invited her. But it doesn't matter now, because she invited herself, right?"

"Right," said Nanako. "She also asked to bring a friend as well."

"She did? Oh wait, let me guess. She brought along Ayano, right?"

"Actually, no. Um… Say…" Nanako brought her attention to the Ryoo girls exclusively. "I didn't catch this when you guys were still in Ryoo, but did any of you know Kusakabe-san had a boyfriend?"

The former Ryoo students' eyes shot open from shock. "Boyfriend?!" they unisoned. As they then began to barrage Nanako with question as to who this mystery boyfriend was (all to no avail, as she knew nothing of who he was, only that they had been together for a year or so), Ritsu was growing ever nervous. She now knew without a doubt in her mind that Misao was going to bring her little brother, therefore bringing about untold amounts of embarrassment onto her. She didn't want to raise any suspicions, so Ritsu turned to Konata and, playing dumb, asking the bluenette "Who's Misao?"

"You don't remember?" Konata said back. "You played against her during that airsoft match a year ago. Short brown hair, golden eyes, fang, dressed like John Rambo. Remember?"

"Oh… Yeah, her…"

Ritsu grew only more fearful with, ten or so minutes later, the doorbell rang once more. Knowing it was Misao, Nanako got up and left the room to answer. Sawako and all the girls could here Misao from the living room greet Nanako with a loud "Yo!" The girls all went quite, anxiously awaiting the boy to show his face.

Nanako reemerged with Misao popping into the doorway. With a giant smile, she waved to everyone and greeting them with a "Sup gals! How have you guys been!?" When she received modest replied back, she quickly figured out what was going on. "Ooooooh, I see. You told them about my boyfriend, didn't you, Nanako?"

The blonde shrugged back. "Only that you had one, don't worry."

"Well good, because I want all you guys to meet him!" She looked to her right. "Come on, Sato-kun. They won't bite."

A clearly male voice sounded from behind the wall. "Misa-chan, you know I don't want to!" Curiosity piqued for all but one of the girls. The tension could be cut with a knife.

"Oh lighten up," Misao said back. "They were going to find out anyway, now let's _go_." Misao reached behind the wall and finally yanked the mystery boy into the doorway and into view. It was none other than Satoshi Tainaka, now fourteen years old and sporting the faintest bit of hair on his chin.

All the girls of the Light Music Club (save Ritsu) exploded at once, exclaiming a loud "Satoshi!?" Their eyes then immediately fell onto his sister, who had now sunken so deep into her seat one could swear she was melting.

The others, who had yet to make the family connection, were more shocked at how young the boy looked. That changed, however, when Konata made the connection for everyone else and said aloud "Say, I know you! You're Ritsu's little brother, aren't you?" Ritsu had now sunken as low as she possibly could into the furniture.

"Kusakabe-san?" said Miyuki. "Did Satoshi-san go to our school? Is that how you met him?"

"Oh no no," Misao answered. "He's still in junior high." The Ryoo girls flinched. "And we met in an airsoft match- Whoa, onigiri!" Misao finally noticed the spread of food and, snatching a rice ball, proceeded to stuff her face. She then pulled Satoshi behind her toward the only remaining seating left, which was a single-person chair.

"Oh shoot," Nanako cursed. "Looks like we're not going to have enough seating for everyone after all."

"Oh don't worry about it," Misao replied before nearly tossing the boy into the chair and plopping down onto his lap. This further escalated the surprised looks of her friends (and the embarrassment of Ritsu.)

"Well don't get too comfy," Sawako warned. "Nanako's parents are going to show eventually and when they do, none of this lovey-dovey stuff, got it?" Misao gave a thumbs-up back.

And so the festivities returned to normalcy. The focus of the room went naturally to Misao and Satoshi, the university and college students asking the couple a plethora of questions. Though Satoshi hesitated to answer many of the questions (especially being right in front of his sister), Misao seemed not at all embarrassed, though, and answered away.

Remaining strangely quiet, however, was kouhai Azusa Nakano. Instead of engaging in the conversation, she instead looked at all the couples around her and felt- dare she admit it- pissed off. She watched and said nothing for over a year as all her friends found someone they loved, and with each other at that! She kept quiet for that long, but now, she was going to say something.

Out of the ambient chatter of the room, Azusa's voice suddenly stuck out, exclaiming a "… What the hell happened?"

Chatter came to an abrupt stop, everyone's eyes turning to the pigtailed girl. Yui, with a mouth half-full of food, turned to Azusa and asked her "What do you mean, Azu-nyan?"

"I-I mean… I mean what happened _here_! With all of us! Wha- I mean, did you guys all meet up one day and decide "Hey, let's all turn gay and couple up together- Oh, but don't tell Azusa, because _she_ won't care, _right_?! I mean- What the hell!"

No one knew how to react initially. They couldn't tell if this was Azusa joking or not, but the flustered look on her face pointed toward "not." And for a moment no one said a word- Until Misao spoke, that is. She raised a hand up slowly and pointed out "Uh… _I'm_ not gay, though."

"M-Me nither," added Satoshi.

Miyuki then added "And I consider myself more 'pansexual' than a le-"

"That's not the point!" a now red faced Azusa protested. "I-It just seemed like it all happened so quickly and now I feel- I-I don't know- I guess I feel left out- AAH!" The girl yelped with her adjacent sempai suddenly leaned over and clamped her arms around Azusa's shoulders. "Y-Yui-sempai? What are you doing!"

"Awww~ Wassa matter, Azu-nyan?" Yui baby-talked to Azusa. "Are you sad because no one confessed to you?"

"Shut up!"

"If you're lonely, Azu-nyan, _I'll_ be your girlfriend, if you want."

"Yui~! Knock it off! That's not what I was saying!" Azusa continued to wriggle and squirm in Yui's grip but it was all to no avail. Her hug was too much to escape from, and eventually the girl gave up. All the on-looking band mates smiled and giggled to each other, musing "Well, if it was going to happen, it was going to be with those two."

"Hey, Nanako!" Misao called out. "I was wondering something. Who's this girl you adopted?"

"Her name's Kana Nakamachi," Nanako answered. "We must have visited at least six different agencies before we met her-"

"Don't lie!" Sawako interrupted. "The _real_ story is, girls, that she got suckered into the first sob story she heard."

"Hey! You chose her too, Sawako!" The brunette rolled her eyes in amusement.

"So have you me her already?" Kagami then asked.

"No, actually," Sawako answered. "Though we did get a dossier with her picture and profile. But honestly, she hasn't had the best circumstances thus far."

"Oh? What happened?"

Sawako proceeded to tell the room of Kana's story, the one outlined in her dossier. According to it, she lost bother her parents when she was but an infant, when they were hit by a drunk driver. She was raised by her mother's mother until she was twelve when the grandmother passed away of old age. She was reported as running away from home as movers were cleaning out the grandparent's house. It is unclear why she ran away, but a statement from one of the movers claimed she was yelling something along the lines of "You won't pack me away with grandma!"

She resurfaced several months later, two months after she turned thirteen. She had been under the care of a local, all female run newspaper whose employees lived in the company building. She helped deliver papers in exchange for room and board. The arrangement work out well and would have continued to do so if the company, due to declining subscribership, had to close. With no other place for a girl of her age to work or live, the newspaper's employees had no choice but to bring her to a local foster home, where she was found by Nanako and Sawako.

As the story wrapped up, the doorbell rang again. "Oh, that must be my parents," Nanako stated. "Misao, that means get off of Satoshi. And stop hugging Azusa, Yui!" Both Nanako and Sawako got up to meet the former's parent's at the door. After they left, Tsukasa turned to Miyuki and asked her "Yuki-chan, what does 'pansexual' mean?"

The pinkette blushed but promptly answered the question. "Well, Hiiragi-san, by definition it means that you become attracted to people regardless of gender. But I like to see it as you fall in love with who people are, not _what_ they are."

"So," said Konata, "does that mean Haruhi's pansexual? Because in the first episode she said-"

"Oh knock it off," Kagami interrupted. "Who the hell watches that show anymore? It's gotta be, I don't know, over five years old now? Who watches anime that are that old anyway?" What followed was a silence that, if one listened closely, one could hear the fourth wall begin to crack.

In came Nanako's parents: Hina and Takumi. Though both seemed to have aged well enough in the last ten years, Takumi now walked with the support of a wooden cane in his right hand. A slip in the bathroom five years ago, though not a serious one, left his right leg in a bad state that he never fully recovered from. Hina, however, seemed as well as ever.

All the girls (and Satoshi) quickly introduced themselves to Nanako's parents. At one point Hina made the light-hearted joke to her daughter that she should "Make friends your own age." Expecting no other visitors besides the adoptee, festivities resumed. All the children seemed to get a particular kick from the stories Takumi began to tell about his youth, how he claimed he was part of a gang and got into regular neighborhood brawls. Hina, with an amused grin, promptly warned everyone that he was joking.

As Takumi was about to begin his fourth tale, the one about "that guitar woman on a yellow vespa," the doorbell rang once more. This time Nanako and Sawako instantly got nervous, knowing for certain this would be the adoption agency. The brunette quickly pointed to Mugi, who was closest to the window that looked out to the street, and ordered her to "Check outside. What do you see?"

Mugi promptly parted the window's curtain and scanned the outside. "Nothing really…" she replied. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"A company van, maybe with the agency's name printed on the side."

"Hmm… Nope, nothing."

"No? Then who could it be?" Everyone watched as Sawako got up and left the room to the door. The door clicked open, but what followed after that was a long period of silence. Curious, Nanako got up as well. Who she found at the front door were the two people she did not expect to actually show.

At the door stood Sawako's mother and father: Jun and Takao Yamanaka.

It had been but a year or so since her last encounter with Sawako's parents, so Nanako remembered the event well. She noticed a nervous sweat forming on the back of her wife's neck, but she kept her composure well. No doubt Sawako was secretly fearful of why they were here.

"… Mom? Dad?" the brunette finally spoke. "Wha-? What are you doing here?"

Takao grinned back and replied "We're here to see the arrival of our granddaughter, of course. I hope we're not too late."

"B-But how did you find out? I never-" Sawako stopped when Nanako walked past and, much to the brunette's amazement, greeted them warmly, as if they were friends. "No, you're not too late," Nanako stated, leading the two inside. "Come in, please. Take a seat wherever." After the two had left for the other room, the blonde turned back to her wife and received exactly what she expected: her unblinking, unbelieving stare.

"Nanako…" she drew out, lowering her voice to a whisper as so no one else could overhear. "Did you _invite_ my parents?"

"Well…" she answered, doing the same. "Not exactly. They kind of asked if they could come when they found out about the adoption."

"And just _how_ did they find out, exactly?"

"I might have… told them."

"Wha-? Nanako, why-?"

"Oh come on, Sawako, they at least have the right to know that they're going to have a grandchild! Besides, they sounded so happy when I told them that I couldn't say no!"

"But why _would_ they care? After everything between us-"

"Well, maybe when _we're_ grandparents we'll know how they feel. Now come on, Sawako, this is supposed to be a happy day for us! Think of it this way: Maybe they decided to come to show that they haven't _completely_ abandoned you. Maybe they want to make up for things."

"… Did they actually say this to you or are you making this up?"

Seeing that hopeful optimism was not working on Sawako, Nanako decided on a different route. In a brief instant, her eyes went from their normal state to intense and stern, somewhat like how Sawako's eyes got whenever she removed her glasses. "Sawako," she said firmly, "I'm _not_ going to let you kick your parents out of our house. Not today. Not when our daughter is coming as well. _Got that?_ If you three don't make up today, that's fine, but freaking _try_, for my and Kana's sake."

Sawako reeled her head back in surprise. "Whoa. When did you learn to do _that_? I thought that was my shtick."

"One learns from the master," she chuckled in reply.

"Hmm, figures… Ok, I concede. They can stay. And I'll _try_ to reconcile with them."

Nanako's face beamed with happiness and the two returned to the living room. To both their delight, the arrival of Sawako's parents was met kindly by everyone, adult and yound adult alike. And once more the get-together got back underway. The massive amount of food the wives prepared slowly began to dwindle away (due in no small part to Misao's bottomless pit of a stomach.)

An hour passed when the doorbell rang for the final time that day. Instantly, Nanako pointed to Mugi and, without being asked, she looked outside to the street. "I see a minivan!" the blonde declared. "Green, with words printed on the side. It looks professional to me." Now there were no more doubts: this would be it, the arrival of Nanako and Sawako's daughter. The two took a moment to get ready before finally getting up and walking to the door side by side.

The two reached for the doorknob as one and, after another pause, creaked the door open… And were _both _met with a sight they weren't expecting.

They were not met with the sight of Kana, but rather, an intimidating man: thin and tall, shaved head, dark sunglasses, ears studded with silver earrings, and dressed in a black suit with lime green tie. He held a clipboard in his hand and had hanging from his lips a cigar that reeked strongly of cherry-scented smoke.

After taking a long drag, he lifted the clipboard and gave it a look-over. "… Nanako Kuroi and Sawako Yamanaka?" he asked, the smoke flowing from past his lips.

"Uh… Yes, that's us," Nanako answered, "but, uh, I thought we were getting a _girl_."

"Uh-? Oh, haha!" the guy in the suit chuckled. "No no, I work for the adoption agency. Name's Yasushi Takagi, Yasu for short." He reached a hand forward and shook the two's hand. "Actually, Kana's still in the van. She's a little shy, you see." The two peeked behind Yasu to the distant van and, sure enough, there was someone inside, sitting behind tinted glass.

Yasu held out his clipboard and a pen. "All that's left to do is your two's initials. Just write wherever I marked with a red 'X.'" The two quickly took turns penning their names down and after a minute they were finished. Yasu looked over the forms quickly and, once finished as well, smiled. "Congratulations. You are now officially parents." A sudden murmur came from inside the house. "Family inside?"

"And friends," Sawako answered.

"Hmm. Well, wait here. I'll go get Kana for you." With a smile the man turned and headed back to the van. Nanako and Sawako moved closer together and grasped nervously at each other's hand. Yasu returned shortly holding two stuffed blue duffle bags and a thirteen year old girl. Light orange hair barely reached to her shoulders and bounced slightly with every nervous step forward. Her large, hazel eyes were fixated on the ground in front of her. Her face show clear nervousness.

She stopped a few feet in front of her new mothers, remaining close beside Yasu, and for a moment she refused to look up and say a word. "Go on," Yasu said gently to Kana. "Introduce yourself." Slowly, the girl lifted her gaze to the two female strangers, putting into the sunlight a clear view of her cuteness.

"H-Hello…" she finally greeted. "M-My name's Kana Nakamachi. Thank you for letting me into your ho- AAH!" By the time Kana yelped she already found herself between Sawako and Nanako, the two bending down to grasp the girl in a simultaneous hug. Kana's head was well pressed betwixt the pair's bosoms.

"Oh my God!" Sawako practically squealed from delight. "You are just the cutest thing ever!"

"And she so well mannered!" Nanako added. "I _knew_ we picked right!" Yasu, quickly feeling out of place, put Kana's bags down and took that time to silently slip away and leave. The others from inside slowly began to gather at the doorway, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the new arrival.

"M-Mama!" Kana called out from between the pair of breasts. "You're crushing me!"

The two quickly relinquished their grip. "Sorry, sorry!" Nanako quickly apologized before realizing "Hey, wait a second. Did you just call me- _us_-'Mama'?"

"W-Well, yeah," she replied. "I mean, if you don't want to-"

"N-No, it's ok. It's just going to get some getting used to, that's all. Eh-hehe…"

The girl poked her head to the side when she noticed the crowd that had gathered at the door. "Uh, is this your family?" Kana asked.

"Some of them, yes," Sawako answered. "The rest are friends of ours."

"Wow! How many sisters _do_ I have!?"

_A Few Months Later…_

"Nana~! Nana~!" Kana called out for her mother by nickname as she made her way downstairs. She received a reply back of "In here", the voice coming from the kitchen. The girl headed right over and was met, proceeding entering the room, with the smell of brewing coffee. "You're making coffee _now_?" Kana asked Nanako as the latter poured a cup. "But it's, like, one in the afternoon."

"Never too late in my book," Nanako grinned back. "Say, feel like finally growing a pair and having one yourself?"

"_Blegh_. You know I hate coffee!"

"Eh, you'll learn to love it sooner or later, trust me. So, what's all the yelling for, Kana?" Kana immediately fell into a familiar pose: she folded her arms behind her back and slowly rocker herself forward and back, an innocent look on her face. Nanako had seen this very pose many times already and she knew exactly what it meant: Kana was going to ask for something.

"Ok, fess up," said Nanako with a grin. "What do you want this time?"

"Oh well~… I was just wondering if, perhaps, maybe… Can we get a cat?"

The girl received back a blank look. "A cat?" Nanako repeated.

"Yeah, a kitty cat! So can we? Can we, can we, can we?"

"No."

"… W-Wha-? But why not~!?" Kana whined.

"_Because_, Kana," Nanako replied, "if we get a cat, Sawako and I are going to be the ones cleaning up after it, and I don't mean just cat fur. Besides, you're too much of a scatterbrain," she joked.

Kana puffed out her reddened cheeks from irritation. "Humph. You're mean, Nana!"

As much as she was right, Nanako didn't like to see Kana mad at her, so decided to make her a deal. "Ok, ok, wait a sec… If you can convince Sawako to let you have a pet, I _might_ change my mind."

With joy flooding back to Kana's face, she rushed off to the living room, where she knew Sawako was. She found her second mother in her favorite place on lazy Sundays such as this: fully stretched out on the couch, currently in the midst of catching up with her shows.

"Sawa~! Sawa~!" Kana gleefully called out as she came rushing into the living room. "Is it ok if I-"

"No," Sawako answered.

"EH?! B-But I didn't even say anything!"

"I heard you and Nanako talking," she stated flatly. "We are not getting a cat, Kana. We have enough pussy in this house already."

Kana's cheeks reddened again, both from angry and embarrassment. "Grrrr. I could _so_ take care of a pet! Really!"

"Besides, what are you asking such random things for right now? Shouldn't you be more focused on getting ready?"

"Ready? Ready for what."

Sawako suddenly sat up on the couch and locked a flat, deadpan look on Kana's eyes. "You're _kidding_," she asked. "_Please_ tell me you're joking. You've only been blabbering on about it for an entire week now."

"What do you mean, Sawa?"

"And _this_ is why you can't have a pet- You're date, dummy! The date you're having _today_?!"

It took Kana a full five seconds before she finally remembered. And when she did, one could claim the yelp she emitted could be heard from space. In the blink of an eye she was already bounding upstairs, cursing at herself. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"

"Better hurry up," Sawako called to Kana. "He said he'd be here not too long from now." This prompted yet another shrill shriek from Kana, and yet another one came when, only five or so minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Nanako was the first there to answer the door and greet their arrival. "Hey there, Satoshi-kun."

"Hello," said Satoshi Tainaka back. "Is, uh, is Kana home?"

A short time after the arrival party for Kana Nakamachi, the relationship between Satoshi and Misao Kusakabe was ended. And by Misao, no less. With the older girl going away for university, she explained to Satoshi that, while she did love him and the time they spent was great, "Maybe it's time we start seeing people are own age." But there was no love lost between the two. The couple had one last, lengthy romp between the sheets, and before Misao left, she left Satoshi with some comforting words.

"Don't feel sad," she told him, grinning and giggling. "Think of it this way: Now, when you ask that Kana girl out, you won't be a complete idiot when you get _her_ into bed."

As odd of a parting message as that was, it would become prophetic as time passed. Not a week or so later, Satoshi and Kana met each other on the morning train to school and quickly found out they also took thesame one back home. It wasn't long before the two began to talk and became friends. After a couple of weeks, Satoshi finally summoned up the courage to ask Kana out, to which the girl gleefully accepted.

Today, Satoshi arrived at the Yamanaka/Kuroi/Makamachi household for what would be his and Kana's first date.

"Yeah, she's here," Nanako replied. "She's upstairs getting ready." She turned around and yelled into the house. "Kana! Satoshi's here!"

Another piercing shriek sounded. "H-Hold on, Sato-kun!" Kana called back. I'll be there soon!"

Nanako turned back to Satoshi and could not help but grin and shake her head at Kana's forgetfulness. "So, where are you two heading?"

"Oh, in town. She's been talking about that movie that came out on Friday, the one based off the anime series. She suggested- Well, insisted, really- we go see that."

Nanako laughed. "I see. Well, I have coffee inside. Want some?"

"Eh, no thanks." Coffee in the afternoon reminded him too much of his ex.

Just then, Sawako appeared from the living room and approached the doorway. "And look who decided to join us," Nanako joked. "Coffee?"

"Sure," Sawako replied. As Nanako let for the kitchen to fetch the drinks, Sawako turned her full attention to the young man who stood before her. "Nervous?" she asked him.

"No, not really…"

"Good. But, uh, before you go…" Sawako bent down to met Satoshi at his eye level. "I just want to say something to you…" A hand reached up to her face and with one swift motion she snapped her glasses off. Her normal, rounded, friendly eyes became sharp and fierce in an instant, taking Satoshi by surprise. This was what his sister had mentioned many times in the past.

"Ok, _lover boy_, listen up," Sawako threatened. "You might have had free range with Misao and did God-knows-what in the bed, but Kana is _my_ daughter. So if I hear that you two have so much went beyond kissing without my consent, we are going to have big, _big_ problem on our hands… Am I clear?"

"Y-Yes, S-S-Sawako-san," a now livid and shaking Satoshi replied.

"Good," smiled Sawako back as she put her glasses back on. Just then, the sound of descending footsteps came from within. "I'm ready, Sato-kun~!" Kana called out as she stepped onto the front porch. She dressed herself for her first date in a plain but colorful sundress and tucked her favorite hairpin into a lock of her hair. She looked the epitome of both innocent and cute.

"Ready to go, Sato-kun?" she asked. "Sato-kun? You look a little pale? Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah," he stammered in reply. "I'm fine. Uh, you look good, Kana."

The girl beamed back a smile. "Thanks!" she replied as she grasped Satoshi by a wrist and pulled him along. "Now let's go, we don't want to be late. Bye Sawa! Bye Nana! I'll be home before dark!"

"Take care." Sawako looked on and smiled as the two went on their way, walking along the sidewalk toward the direction of the nearest station. Nanako joined her only a short moment later with a mug of coffee in each hand, one of which Sawako took.

"Jeez, did you scare Satoshi enough?" Nanako asked sarcastically. "Try not to scare the boy _too_ much. We want them to have a second date, at least."

"Just needed to set some ground rules is all…" She took a sip of her drink and voiced a long, pleased sigh. The weather could not have been any more perfect that day and it directly reflected the mood she had been in for the past few months, ever since Kana entered her life.

"You know," said Nanako, "it's kind of funny."

"What is?" asked Sawako.

"A year ago, the thought of having a child, adopted or otherwise, was completely out of the question for me. And look at us now."

Sawako chuckled. "Yeah. I remembered when you collapsed when I mentioned the notion at that performance your girls set up."

"And _two_ years ago, I never thought we'd be together again… I thought that after we began drifting apart after we graduated that that was it. We'd go our separate ways and we'd both move on…"

"But somehow fate brought us back together…" Sawako reached over and grabbed Nanako's free hand. "And I'm glad it did."

Because when lucky stars and guitars meet, the bonds are unbreakable and the possibilities are endless…

**THE END**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>**[Author's Notes] **Well my friends, it's been a long time coming- too long for my own tastes- but this is it: the final installment to the Lucky Stars and Gitahs series. I have nothing but thanks for all of you have stuck around since the beginning and I hope it has been an enjoyable experience reading what I now consider my claim to fame on this misunderstood website of ours.

But this mean I will stop making Lucky Star/K-on crossovers. Honestly, I don't know, but I'll leave the prospect in the air. There are so many more things I want to write right now, but if in the future the desire is strong enough, I might re-walk these oh-so-familiar grounds.

But until then, this is ParadoxBattleZone wishing you all happy readings.


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